Fully faceless indirect tax admin starts At CBIC with E-OFFICE’S launch

NEW DELHI: The CGST and Customs offices across India will soon go completely face

less and paperless with the

launch of e-office application by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

The e-office application will begin functioning in 500 CGST and Customs offices from Monday and will be used by over 50,000 officers and staff, making the CBIC one of the largest government departments to automate its internal office procedures. The

launch of e-office marks a fundamental change in internal office procedures which is so far based on manual handling of files and paper movement, a government statement said. The CBIC expects e-office would complement its many other It-led reforms which are directly aimed at enhancing the ease of doing business for the trade and industry.

E-office was launched remotely by CBIC Chairman Ajit Kumar in the presence of over 800 senior officers.

The launch of e-office is one more measure taken by the CBIC in leveraging technology for providing a ‘Faceless, Contactless and Paperless’ indirect tax administration. Developed by the NIC and supported by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), the e-office application aims to improve governance by automating the internal processes of handling files and taking decisions within the government.

The e-office application’s main module, efile, enables on-line file related work, starting from receiving and marking correspondence, operating a file, preparing a draft letter, its approval/signature and dispatch of the signed letter.