Customs - Appointment of common adjudicating authority - Board Issues Clarifications
BY Notification No 60/2015 -Customs (N.T.), dated 04.06.2015 the power to appoint common adjudicating authority in cases investigated by DRI upto the level of Commissioner of Customs have been delegated to Principal Director General of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in terms of section 152 of the Customs Act, 1962. Board says, this notification was issued in the interest of expediting decision making with resultant benefits to both trade and revenue in terms of faster settlement of outstanding disputes.
In this regard, the Board has prescribed the following guidelines for Principal DG, DRI:
(a) The following cases initiated by DRI shall be assigned to Additional Director General (Adjudication), DRI:
(i) Cases involving duty of Rs.5 crores and above;
(ii) Group of cases on identical issues involving aggregate duty of Rs.5 crores or more;
(iii) Cases involving seizure value of Rs.5 crores or more;
(iv) Cases of over-valuation irrespective of value involved; and
(v) Existing DRI cases with erstwhile Commissioner (Adjudication).
(b) Cases other than at (a) above involving more than one Customs Commissionerate would be assigned to the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs on the basis of the maximum duty evaded;
(c) Cases other than at (a) above involving a single Customs Commissionerate would be assigned to the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs;
(d) Non-DRI cases pending with erstwhile Commissioner (Adjudication) would be assigned to Additional Director General (Adjudication), DRI;
(e) Past DRI cases pending for adjudication with jurisdictional Commissioners of Customs would continue with these officers;
(f) Remand cases would be decided by the original adjudicating authority.
CBEC Circular No.18/2015-Cus, Dated: June 09, 2015