Copy reformatted by www.pondycentralexcise.gov.in 

URGENT

DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF SYSTEMS & DATA MANAGEMENT

CUSTOMS & CENTRAL EXCISE

HOTEL SAMRAT, CHANAKYAPURI

NEW DELHI - 110021

F. No. IV (24)/9 /2008-Systems                                                                   Dated: 26 September 2008

To

Commissioner Central Excise/Service Tax/Customs

Sir,

Subject: Implementation of Local Area Network (LAN) as part of CBEC’s IT Consolidation Project -reg.

Kind attention is invited to letters F No IV (24)/15/2008-Systems dated August 8, 2008 and F No IV (24)/10/2008-Systems dated May 9, 2008 from Director General (Systems) addressed to all Chief Commissioners, regarding implementation of the LAN project. Relevant details of the LAN project and a broad overview of the responsibilities and roles of the local officers are also available as a presentation on the Departmental website www.cbec.gov.in and www.icegate.gov.in.. These may be taken note of by officers of the Commissionerate.

2. As you may be aware, the present status of the LAN project is that site surveys of the building have largely been completed. Delivery of equipment and implementation has also commenced at certain locations. At this stage, certain significant issues have emerged which directly impact the financial and implementation timelines of the project and require urgent review. It is therefore requested that the response of your Commissionerate to this letter may kindly be provided latest by 6.10.2008, to enable this Directorate to adhere to committed timelines. Details of the relevant issues are as follows:

A. Provisioning of funds at RE stage for certain equipment being supplied under the LAN project, which is to be procured and billed locally.

As already indicated in DG Systems’ letter dated August 8, 2008, details of the additional funds required to be provisioned in each Commissionerate are to be communicated by this Directorate to all Commissionerates and this work is at an advanced stage. In order to ensure that the estimates being worked out by this Directorate are accurate and billing under the project is done correctly by M/s HP India Sales Pvt. Ltd (HP), an immediate confirmation is required in respect of:

1. The total number and details of buildings under the administrative control of each Commissioner, including those buildings where other offices of CBEC are co-located (available details at Annexure 1).

It may be noted that in certain cases the nodal officers have indicated that the office is shifting within a period of one year, without indicating the new address or a clear time frame for shifting. In all such cases implementation of the LAN project is not being taken up at present. Deferred implementation is being considered only in respect of offices where a definite time frame for shifting has been indicated and the new address has been provided. These details may kindly be reconfirmed at this stage so that LAN implementation is done only at locations where the offices are likely to continue functioning at least for the next one year.

2. The total number of offices, formation wise, which are located within each building (Annex 1).

This is an important point, since in case of local billing of equipment, the bill would be raised by M/s HP in respect of the Commissioner administratively incharge of the building, for all the LAN equipment to be installed in the building, including such equipment which is to be installed in offices under the jurisdiction of other Commissioners, which are co-located in the same building. The details of such co-located offices may also be reconfirmed and any discrepancy brought to the notice of this Directorate. This Directorate is working out estimated provisioning of funds accordingly. Since this process is only meant to facilitate the billing and implementation of the LAN project, if required, the equipment may later be allocated formation wise by the respective Commissioners.

Where the co-located offices in a building have independent arrangements with the building owner and no single Commissioner is administratively in charge for all offices in the building, the local billing for LAN equipment would be done in respect of the Commissioner in charge of the lead nodal officer for the building. Provisioning of funds would also be indicated accordingly. Any discrepancy in this regard may also be pointed out.

3. Details of the identified users of the LAN project, office-wise, within each Headquarter building, including the correct room numbers, from the total list of users identified in each office in the building. (Annexure 2).

Parameters based on which these users are to be identified are also placed at Annex 2. Apart from administrative users accessing departmental mail over the new network, the norms for identifying users of the Excise and Service Tax application (ACES) and Indian Customs EDI System (ICES) have also been indicated therein. Each Commissionerate is requested to confirm details of the user nodes required for the Headquarters building, along with the correct room number as per parameters indicated Location of the conference room and facilitation counters may be reconfirmed in all cases. In the case of Custom Houses, requirements of all users of ICES should be included.

It may be noted that in respect of non-Headquarter formations eg Central Excise Divisions, Central Excise ranges, Service tax groups and ranges, Custom Preventive Divisions, FPOs, and standalone customs appraising locations such as ICDs, LCSs etc, the total number of users have already been worked out by this Directorate based on the functional needs of these offices and the total number of nodes available under the project at a national level. User nodes are being provided to all Group A officers and selected officers upto the level of Inspectors, based on functional requirements. In some case the user nodes may also have to be shared.

4. The correctness of the certificate of availability/ non-availability of space for DG sets as indicated by nodal officers at the time of site survey, as also the willingness of the building owner/custodian to allow deployment of the DG sets at these locations (Annexure 1) is required to be reconfirmed.

In case the deployment of DG set is not found to be feasible or if more than one DG set is required to be deployed, (depending on the back up power requirements of the building), budgetary provision would vary accordingly. Easily available options such as installation in garage space or open spaces adjacent to the building may in any case be reconfirmed.

As the lack of back-up power would have a significant impact on the users subsequently, it is requested that nodal officers may facilitate a dialogue of M/s HP with the building owner/ custodian, to examine all technically and statutorily viable options including deployment of DG sets on the roof top or in basement of buildings. Relevant technical documentation would be provided by M/s HP as required.

Details in respect of points i.) to iv.) above are included in the site survey reports, copies of which are already available at all locations where site surveys have been completed. However to facilitate the review process, relevant details are again being forwarded as per annexures indicated above.

A copy of IFU’s instructions F No 15/6/2008 –IFU-III dated 16^th September 2008 regarding revised delegation of powers of upto Rs 7 lakh per building for DG sets is also enclosed at Annexure 3. DG Systems’ earlier letter in this regard dated 8^th August 2008 may kindly be read in light of these revised instructions.

In case of offices listed in Annexure 1 and where the site survey has not been completed or has yet to commence, it is requested that details in respect of the above points may be compiled by the Commissionerate directly and forwarded to this office, as per site survey format circulated earlier (copy of the site survey format is also available at www.cbec.gov.in). Names of such offices are also being indicated.

2. Review of the local administrative arrangements for the LAN project

As the LAN project involves a complex implementation cycle needing continual interface of the vendors with the nodal officers, Director General (Systems) in his earlier communications had laid emphasis on senior level involvement to facilitate the implementation process. Stray cases have been observed where the nodal officers have not extended necessary cooperation or where agreed time schedules for carrying out activities such as survey and commencement of implementation have not been adhered to. Since this implementation is being done as per contract and the project roll-out is being continually reviewed by the Ministry, it is requested that Commissioners may kindly review the local administrative arrangements with the concerned nodal officers as per an indicative issue list placed at Annexure 4 and impress upon them the need to extend all necessary cooperation to M/s HP. This may be taken up as an on-going process until the stage of project acceptance.

3. Connectivity for standalone Central Excise range offices

This Directorate had earlier indicated that ISDN/Broadband connectivity would be required for standalone Central Excise range offices (i.e. those ranges which are not co-located with the Division or Headquarters) where the Wide Area Network was not being provided as part of the Consolidation project. A secure and uniform solution using VPN over Broadband is being processed in this Directorate and relevant details would be forwarded after approval. As already indicated, the connectivity for such buildings would be provided directly by the concerned Commissionerates.

3. In view of the urgency involved, a response in respect of issues at A above may kindly be sent by email to

suresh.kumar@icegate.gov.in – in respect of Central Excise and Service Tax Commissionerates

yogendra.garg@icegate.gov.in – in respects of Customs Commissionerates and Commissionerates of Central Excise and Customs

4. In view of the paucity of time, the Directorate would proceed further based on the responses received from Commissionerates by 6.10.2008, and where no response is received, the site survey report signed by the nodal officer would be relied upon as the basis for further action.

A copy of this letter alongwith all the annexures has also been sent by e-decs.

Yours faithfully,

Sd/- 

26.09.08

(Somya T.Dave)

Additional Director General(Systems)

Tel: 011-2611 9994 Fax: 011- 2687 7958

Encl: As above Email: somya.dave@icegate.gov.in

ANNEXURE 2

Parameters for allocation of user nodes

I General

1.   9 user nodes for Chief Commisioner’s Office including Chief Commissioner

2.   6 user nodes for Commissioner Appeal’s office including Commissioner(Appeal)

3. Approximately 33 nodes for the Commissionerate Headquarters including user nodes for all Group A officers

4. User nodes for others based on functional requirements, upto the level of Inspectors

5. No user nodes for PAs/ Stenos as they are not required to access the applications hosted at data centre

6. For access to departmental mail and other service requirements, additional user nodes (apart from the 33 above) being provided for:

1. Administration/Establishment section 1

2. Vigilance section 1

3. Statistics section 1

4. Legal section 1

5. Conference Room 1

6. CAO 1

7. NIC preferably in the Communication room. As required

8. Facilitation counters on the ground floor/reception areas 2 nodes

NOTE 1: A few additional nodes may be provided based on actual functional requirements, and availability of nodes within the project. Nodes should be allocated for vacancies likely to be filled. Nodes for non-headquarter offices in the building will be provided separately.

NOTE 2: Redeployment of PCs would inter alia be required for selected officers accessing Data Warehouse application reports, for supporting multiple scanners within a single building and where suitable PCs can be made available for redeployment. Redeployment of other equipment would also depend on the availability and technical specifications of such equipment. This would be separately examined by Directorate of Systems.

II Formation Specific Details

Excise and Service Tax Commisionerates -

User nodes for sections using ACES including:

1. Technical

2. Adjudication

3. Audit

4. Review

5. Headquarters Preventive

Illustrative example of a Central Excise and Service Tax Commissionerate Headquarters

Customs Commissionerates

User nodes for:

1. All ICES users including service Centre, appraising, examination, drawback and SIIB

2. Technical /Policy section

3. Refund

4. CIU

5. NIC

6. CRCL (as relevant)

For Customs locations, user nodes would be as per actual requirements of the Indian Customs EDI System. For general user nodes, parameters given above would be applicable.

ANNEXURE 4

Issue List for Review of LAN Project

1 Site Survey Related Issues Impacting the Financial Allocations for the project

1. Reconfirm all relevant details captured during site survey including shifting of offices, space for DG sets, permissions from building owners/custodians. Senior level review of all survey reports may be useful.

2. Confirmation in respect of users (including room numbers) at headquarters

3. Provision for consumables for peripherals such as toner for printers and fuel for DG sets

4. Provision for connectivity of standalone range offices to access the application at the data center based on details to be provided by Directorate of Systems.

2. Building level implementation issues

2. WAN related issues as indicated in the survey report should be addressed on priority in the WAN buildings specially provision of UPS temporarily, for about 2 months, for enabling testing and acceptance of WAN implementation

3. Facilities for the Communication Room including air conditioning and controlled access

4. Civil works e.g. in Customs locations for creation of service center and office space in examination sheds

5. Implementation of pest/rodent control in all buildings to prevent cable damage

6. Control of seepage to prevent damage to the network

3. General Facilitation

2. Extending cooperation to vendor for implementation, based on general instructions issued by the Directorate of Systems, without insisting on separate letters or instructions to each officer in charge of a formation. Agreed implementation schedules must be adhered to. In exceptional cases any change should be coordinated with the vendor in advance.

3. Facilitation for road permits as applicable, in terms of instructions issued by the DG Systems.

4. Interface with custodians at Customs locations e.g. for permission for cable laying

5. Facilitating arrangements for storage of equipment prior to implementation

3. Essential points to be noted

1. Location of communication room is not to be shifted without approval of Directorate of Systems.

2. In case of any civil works within the building, care should be taken to avoid any damage to the new LAN.

3. Users should identify the location of the node in each room carefully, as shifting of nodes subsequent to implementation would not be feasible.

4. On account of security considerations, the existing LAN in any building should be kept entirely distinct from the new LAN infrastruct