Large Group of Tax & Customs Officers Win Relief on Discriminatory Pay Scales: CAT Grants Notional Salary Revision from 1996 [Read Order]

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Ernakulam Bench, ruled that a large group of tax and customs officers are entitled to notional revision of their pay scales from 1 January 1996, though arrears are restricted to three years prior to filing their cases.

The applicants, consisting of Inspectors, Superintendents, Assistant Commissioners, and others, argued that they were denied enhanced replacement scale benefits that had been granted to similar cadres in other departments from 1996. They argued that the government’s decision to extend the benefit only from 21 April 2004 was discriminatory and violated the principle of parity.

The officers’ counsel argued that parity in pay scales had always been maintained with comparable posts in departments such as CBI, Railways, and Narcotics Bureau. They relied on earlier tribunal and court decisions which had granted similar relief to officers in other regions.

The government counsel countered that the applications were filed belatedly and that fixing a cut-off date was a matter of policy. They argued that the officers had already accepted the revised scales from 2004 and could not now seek retrospective benefits.

The bench comprising Braj Mohan Agrawal (Administrative Member) and Justice K.Haripal (Judicial Member) observed that the grievance was a continuing wrong since the disparity in pay scales persisted every month. The tribunal explained that parity in pay scales could not be broken without justification and pointed out that officers in other departments had received the benefit from 1996.

The tribunal held that denying the same to tax and customs officers was discriminatory. It ordered that the applicants are entitled to notional revision of pay scales from 1 January 1996, with arrears limited to three years before filing their cases.

The tribunal further directed that pensions of retired officers be recalculated on the basis of the revised scales. The applications were disposed of accordingly.

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