Board Empowers DRI, DGCEI to Issue SCNs
IT is the practice for DRI and DGCEI to book cases left right and centre, prepare bulky Show Cause Notices running into hundreds of pages and then make the Jurisdictional Customs or Central Excise officers to adjudicate them. It is an unwritten rule in the field that a Show Cause Notice issued by DRI/DGCEI has to be invariably confirmed.
However, all this changed recently. The Supreme Court in the case of Sayed Ali - held,
“ it is only the officers of customs, who are assigned the functions of assessment, which of course, would include re-assessment, working under the jurisdictional Collectorate within whose jurisdiction the bills of entry or baggage declarations had been filed and the consignments had been cleared for home consumption, will have the jurisdiction to issue notice under Section 28 of the Act ”.
Lo and behold! All the Show Cause Notices issued by DRI, suddenly became illegal. A panicked Board, in Instruction dated 15.04.2011 told the field, “ while other alternative measures are being considered to address the matter, it has been decided by the Board that henceforth all Show Cause Notices under Section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962 in respect of cases investigated DRI/Customs Preventive formations are required to be issued by jurisdictional Commissioners from where imports have taken place. Board also desires the field formations to examine the pending show cause notices and wherever the cases are not hit by limitation, show cause notices may be got issued afresh by jurisdictional Commissionerates in supersession of the earlier show cause notices and in the light of the Hon'ble Supreme Court judgement in the matter ”.
Now, the Board has come up with a notification assigning the functions of ‘proper officer' for the purposes of Section 17 (Assessment) and Section 28 (Recovery of duties) of the Customs Act, on the following officers.
1. Additional Director Generals, Additional Directors or Joint Directors, Deputy Directors or Assistant Directors in the Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence.
2. Commissioners of Customs (Preventive), Additional Commissioners or Joint Commissioners of Customs (Preventive), Deputy Commissioners or Assistant Commissioners of Customs (Preventive).
3. Additional Director Generals, Additional Directors or Joint Directors, Deputy Directors or Assistant Directors in the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence.
4. Commissioners of Central Excise, Additional Commissioners or Joint Commissioners of Central Excise, Deputy Commissioners or Assistant Commissioners of Central Excise.
Please also see - 28.04.2011
You can be sure this will be one of the retrospective amendments in the next budget.
Notification No. , Dated : July 06, 2011