Runner-up : e-Gov Projects : Govt of India : Automation of Central Excise & Service Tax [ACES]

Automation of Central Excise and Service Tax (ACES), an initiative by the
CBEC ,aims at improving tax-payer services, transparency, accountability and
efficiency in the indirect tax administration in India. CBEC has started an
online portal called http://www.aces.gov.in/  which can be accessed by anybody
with a computer having Internet connection.  This is a Mission Mode project (MMP)
of the Prime Minister under the e-Governance plan of the Govt  of India and was
rolled-out in phases by end-September, 2008 in some selected pilot
Commissionerates and thereafter nationally by June 2009.  The main reason for
CBEC to switch to the electronic medium is to increase the transparency and
build efficiency for the entire user base. Government is concerned about the
ease of the tax payers to pay taxes and file returns to the government. CBEC has
decided to use Information Technology to address the issue of collection and
payment of taxes for the ease of the taxpayers even while attaining excellence
in the formulation and implementation of taxes and its procedures. Since taxes
form an important component of the Govt fiscal policy, proper robust
transformation is the key for business function ensuring e-registration,
e-fling, e-payments, etc.

This application, developed by Wipro, aims to automate all major processes in
Central Excise and Service Tax through a workflow-based application. ACES is the
second generation software, which will gradually replace the current
applications of SERMON, SACER, SAPS, STREMS, used in Central Excise and Service
Tax for capturing returns and registration details of the assessees. It
encompasses the entire gamut of Central Excise and Service Tax
processes-registration, returns, accounting and reconciliation, refunds, dispute
resolution, audit, provisional assessment, exports, claims, intimations and
permissions.

Roll out of the ACES application is expected to result in a major change in
the way the Central Excise and Service Tax formations conduct their regular
business vis-à-vis the assessees. E-filing and e-processing of documents will
replace manual filing and handling of paper documents, making the offices almost
paperless. In the new system, taxpayers can register themselves, file their
returns and claim their refunds online as against the earlier manual system.

Department officials can also use this facility to scrutinize the details
filed in the returns and claims, manage the adjudication process, manage the
risk, create audit profile, reconcile the accounts and generate MIS reports. The
web-based workflow solution enhances productivity, ensures flexibility through
rules configuration engine, ensures ease in changing business rules and also
provides collection and analysis of metrics. The new system also has advanced
security features, high performance and seamlessly scalable architecture. Key
benefits include reduced need for face-to-face interaction between tax payers
and tax collectors. The application enables faster registration and submission
of returns for assesses. Assesses can track refunds online and settle disputes
faster.

Department officials can also report on tax collections faster and more
accurately. In short, the application brings under one centralized platform, a
very large and diverse set of procedures and business functionalities covering
the entire gamut of Central Excise and Service Tax to enable an efficient tax
system. The biggest challenge was selection of right technology and architecture
which can support thousands of concurrent users and will be scalable in nature
in future.  Another challenge was getting the right business information and
knowledge as different jurisdiction are following different practices and
deciding among them was a challenge.

Users can register on the portal after which they can file customs and excise tax online in an easy and user friendly manner

The popularity and the success of the portal can be accessed from the fact
that from go-live the portal has managed to receive in access of 11 crore hits
and the number is growing.

Central Excise & Service Tax Registrations by users filed in ACES has crossed
the 2 lakh mark whereas Central Excise & Service Tax Returns filed online in
ACES is also 2 lakhs. These figures speak volumes for the widespread adoption of
the portal for its use.