Can DRI adjudicate cases – if yes, why they don’t?
DRI and DGCEI, the premier investigation agencies of the department go round booking cases, gather tons of paper from the assessees and importers, record huge statements and prepare lengthy Show Cause Notices, but finally they leave adjudication to the respective Customs or Central Excise commissioners? Why? One good reason may be 100% success rate for no commissioner drops a case booked by DRI or DGCEI! If an elaborate Show Cause Notice running into more than 50 pages ( that is the normal size of a DRI/CEI Show Cause Notice) starting with what you do with a swipe card as stated in his voluntary statement given before ……… ending with the condemnation that he is liable to pay the duty amounting to a few Crores. If the magnum opus can be prepared, why can’t somebody in the directorate pass an order? After all it will save a lot of typing. All that you have to do is replace “it appears” in the Show Cause Notice with “it is clear” and confirm whatever is demanded. Your job is over and finished. But it’s never done; the Show Cause Notices are invariably made answerable to the jurisdictional commissioner.
Does the DRI and DGCEI have the power to adjudicate? If they have they should instead of throwing it at the commissioners. If they don’t have the power, they should not issue Show Cause Notices also. That should be done by the adjudicating authorities. In Circular No. 752/68/2003-CX., dated 1-10-2003, the Board emphatically clarified that the show cause notice shall be approved in writing and signed by the officer competent to adjudicate the said show cause notice.
So DRI and DGCEI officers who sign Show Cause Notices should be sure that they are competent to adjudicate the case and that brings us back to the original question, “if they can, why they don’t?”
And then what is the purpose of giving notifications for adjudicating individual cases? Why can’t we appoint 4 commissioners only to adjudicate DRI cases instead of frequent notifications?