Customs official seek promotion
Claim they have completed requisite years of service in their posts to qualify for next grade
PHOTO: EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
Around three dozen officials of the Customs Collectorate of Preventive Services have approached the court against a minimum condition imposed for time scale promotions.
As many as 37 Superintendents of Preventive Service at the Customs Collectorate in Karachi, filed the petition in the Islamabad High Court, stating that the notification is “unjustified” as the petitioners have already completed at least three-years of service in basic pay scale grade (BPS) -16 and hence are fully qualified for being promoted to the next grade, BPS-17 and if not promoted, many of them will retire before they complete another three years’ of service.
In the petition, the petitioners contended that the issue of conditioning promotion to three years’ of service arose due to misapplication of the notification December 22, 2015, read with Finance Division’s Officer Memorandum of December 18, 2015.
The counsel stated in the petition that the petitioners had been working in BPS-16 since January 1, 2013, and have thus completed the prescribed length of three years of service on December 31, 2015.
Hence, they are fully qualified for promotion into the next grade without waiting for three more years.
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He said that the petitioners have been promoted as Superintendent Preventive Service (BPS-16) in the same scale through different notifications from May 11, 2016, to January 2, 2018, from the post of Inspector Preventive Service – another BPS-16 post.
“If a BPS-16 Inspector Preventive Service is promoted in the same pay scale (BPS-16), that is as Superintendent Preventive Service in BPS-16, it cannot be called a promotion,” the petition argued.
The petition further disclosed that the petitioners have overall served for more than 30 years as preventive officers and inspector preventive service before being promoted to superintendent preventive service.
They added that their colleagues, who were promoted on or before December 18, 2015, have rendered more or less the same length of service, therefore; they are identically placed and hence must be treated alike.
The counsel maintained that the petitioners filed a representation on August 12, 2016, with the request that the restriction of three years of service may be withdrawn for higher time scale (BPS-17) as they have already fulfilled the condition.
However, he stated, the same was not exclusively decided on the technical grounds that the matter pertains to the finance division and no representation lies to FBR.
Moreover, he contended that the stance of the revenue division secretary at the FBR was contrary to the facts as he moved a summary to the prime minister in 2013 with the recommendations that the posts of Superintendent Preventive Service and others should be upgraded to BPS-17.
The petitioners said that the public functionaries are bound to act in accordance with the policy, rules and regularisations but the respondents were violating the procedure laid down by the government with regard to the career progress of the superintendents.
The petitioners added that they have been ignored illegally, unlawfully and by adopting the approach of discrimination, which is unjustified and against the fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution.
They have prayed the court to convert the petition into a departmental appeal, forward it to the secretary of the revenue division with directions to decide it along with the pending departmental representation of August 12, 2016, on merit by affording an opportunity of personal hearing.
The petitioners have sought the IHC’s intervention in the matter and listed the secretary of the Revenue Division of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Finance Division secretary, Establishment Division secretary and the Collector Model Customs Collectorate of Preventive, Customs House Karachi as respondents in the petition.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2018.
Around three dozen officials of the Customs Collectorate of Preventive Services have approached the court against a minimum condition imposed for time scale promotions.
As many as 37 Superintendents of Preventive Service at the Customs Collectorate in Karachi, filed the petition in the Islamabad High Court, stating that the notification is “unjustified” as the petitioners have already completed at least three-years of service in basic pay scale grade (BPS) -16 and hence are fully qualified for being promoted to the next grade, BPS-17 and if not promoted, many of them will retire before they complete another three years’ of service.
In the petition, the petitioners contended that the issue of conditioning promotion to three years’ of service arose due to misapplication of the notification December 22, 2015, read with Finance Division’s Officer Memorandum of December 18, 2015.
The counsel stated in the petition that the petitioners had been working in BPS-16 since January 1, 2013, and have thus completed the prescribed length of three years of service on December 31, 2015.
Hence, they are fully qualified for promotion into the next grade without waiting for three more years.
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He said that the petitioners have been promoted as Superintendent Preventive Service (BPS-16) in the same scale through different notifications from May 11, 2016, to January 2, 2018, from the post of Inspector Preventive Service – another BPS-16 post.
“If a BPS-16 Inspector Preventive Service is promoted in the same pay scale (BPS-16), that is as Superintendent Preventive Service in BPS-16, it cannot be called a promotion,” the petition argued.
The petition further disclosed that the petitioners have overall served for more than 30 years as preventive officers and inspector preventive service before being promoted to superintendent preventive service.
They added that their colleagues, who were promoted on or before December 18, 2015, have rendered more or less the same length of service, therefore; they are identically placed and hence must be treated alike.
The counsel maintained that the petitioners filed a representation on August 12, 2016, with the request that the restriction of three years of service may be withdrawn for higher time scale (BPS-17) as they have already fulfilled the condition.
However, he stated, the same was not exclusively decided on the technical grounds that the matter pertains to the finance division and no representation lies to FBR.
Moreover, he contended that the stance of the revenue division secretary at the FBR was contrary to the facts as he moved a summary to the prime minister in 2013 with the recommendations that the posts of Superintendent Preventive Service and others should be upgraded to BPS-17.
The petitioners said that the public functionaries are bound to act in accordance with the policy, rules and regularisations but the respondents were violating the procedure laid down by the government with regard to the career progress of the superintendents.
The petitioners added that they have been ignored illegally, unlawfully and by adopting the approach of discrimination, which is unjustified and against the fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution.
They have prayed the court to convert the petition into a departmental appeal, forward it to the secretary of the revenue division with directions to decide it along with the pending departmental representation of August 12, 2016, on merit by affording an opportunity of personal hearing.
The petitioners have sought the IHC’s intervention in the matter and listed the secretary of the Revenue Division of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Finance Division secretary, Establishment Division secretary and the Collector Model Customs Collectorate of Preventive, Customs House Karachi as respondents in the petition.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2018.