TIOL-DDT 1017 · Tuesday, 23 December 2008 · story 4 of 7

Central Excise Officers arrested by CBI

Maybe it's the year-end target time for CBI and Revenue officials are easy targets. It seems yesterday the CBI arrested a Superintendent and three Inspectors of Central Excise in the Thane Commissionerate for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 1.5 Lakhs - for returning illegally seized documents.

A very senior officer told DDT, "no officer will ever get caught, if he accepts whatever money is willingly and voluntarily paid by the assessee; It is only the greedy who demand and harass who get caught."

It seems demanding a bribe is not an offence, only accepting it is.