The Government has cleared the creation of seven Indirect Tax Ombudsmen posts for quick redressal of grievances relating to customs, excise and service taxes.

These seven posts, approved at a meeting of the Union Cabinet here on Thursday, are to be located in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Lucknow.

The meeting also approved the Indirect Tax Ombudsman Guidelines, 2011, an official release said. The Ombudsmen will consider complaints of tax payers and facilitate their “satisfaction or settlement” by agreement through conciliation and mediation between Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax department and the aggrieved parties.

“It is expected that this will result in making the grievance redressal mechanism in the Customs, Central Excise and the Service Tax offices under the Central Board for Excise and Customs more effective and transparent,” the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ms Ambika Soni, said in a briefing after the meeting.

The Ombudsmen will have powers to give “awards” to the aggrieved parties in accordance with the Guidelines. An Ombudsman is a Government official whose job is to examine and report on complaints made by the people at large about the public servants.

The Cabinet also approved a proposal to set up a National Mission for Electric Mobility (NCEM) to promote electric mobility and manufacturing of electric vehicles in India. It further ratified the setting up of a National Board for Electric Mobility (NBEM) by the Department of Heavy Industry.

The NCEM will be the apex body in the Government of India for making recommendations in these matters. The National Automotive Board (NAB), after its formation, will be the technical advisor and secretariat for both the NCEM and NBEM, an official statement said.

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