The Union Minister of Finance Corporate Affairs and Information Broadcasting Shri Arun Jaitley asked the young Officer Trainees (OTs) of the 67th Batch of Officer Trainees (OTs) of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Central Excise) to emulate the Gandhian principle that even in moments of struggle, they should be in a position to maintain the position of ethics and morality on their side. He said that even when facing pulls and pressures, they must never forget to go straight. The Finance Minister told the Officer Trainees that if they maintain absolute standards of ethics and 100% integrity, they would definitely go a long way. All this was to be accompanied with professional competence and a judicious and fair approach in tax collection, he added. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley was addressing the 67th Batch of Officer Trainees (OTs) of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Central Excise) here today. The function was attended among others by the Chairman, CBEC Shri Najib Shah, Shri Ram Tirath, Shri P.K.Bansal,and Ms Ananya Ray, all Members, CBEC and other senior officers of the Ministry of Finance and CBEC.

 The Union Minister of Finance Corporate Affairs and Information Broadcasting Shri Arun Jaitley further that the taxation should not be a painful process for the people. Ideally, the Minister said that the Government should collection taxes like a honeybee, which sucks just the right amount of honey from the flower so that both can survive,. Shri Jaitley also mentioned that the starting point of any activity is investment and the purpose of investment is to yield profitability. And in this process, he said that the investors work out the element of taxability and this tax content which is generated as revenue is used for infrastructure and for fulfilling the social responsibilities of the State as well as to yield more economic activity. And for this, the Finance Minister in his address to the OTs indicated the road map for the future. He wanted them to retain the idealism which they inculcated at the time of joining the service to be retained with the same enthusiasm at the time when they are retiring from Service. For this, the Finance Minister said that they need to have the basic cardinal principle of striving for excellence. Earlier, the Officer Trainees (OTs) of 67th Batch qualified the Civil Service Exam 2014 have joined the Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Central Excise Service) on 28th Dec 2015. 190 officer trainees have reported for training including 25 officers of the earlier batch who had availed of extra ordinary leave. There are also five customs officers from the Royal Govt. of Bhutan who are training with this Batch. The educational qualifications of the OTs varies from engineering degrees to doctors to post graduate degree holders and graduates in the field of humanities science and commerce besides management and law graduates and a Ph D. The batch is truly representative of the States of India covering Jammu and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu and Gujarat to Manipur and Nagaland. The largest representation come from the state of Rajasthan followed by Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. Their age profile varies from 24 years to 35 years.

 Their training includes class room training in Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax and Narcotics besides Public Finance and Policy, Foreign Trade Policy, International Conventions, Administrative Law and other related laws including those relating to protection of the environment, heritage of India, national security etc. Besides they are exposed to on the job training in the various field formations of Customs, Excise and Service Tax and also training with para military forces, like BSF, ITBP, Coast Guard, Indian Navy to learn the finer aspects of Border Management and National Security. They are also sent to a leading university abroad for a week’s training on leadership and public policy and to acquaint with international best practices.

Ethical tax administration urged for revenue officers to maintain integrity, professional competence and ensure fair, non-painful tax collection. The Finance Minister urged IRS (Customs & Central Excise) Officer Trainees to uphold ethical conduct and integrity, combining these standards with professional competence and a judicious, fair approach to tax collection. He emphasized that taxation should not be burdensome, using a honeybee analogy for minimal, sustainable extraction, and linked responsible tax administration to funding infrastructure and social obligations. Training-comprising classroom instruction in taxation and related laws, on the job field postings, border security exposure, and short international leadership attachments-was identified as the mechanism to achieve these goals.