Can DRI adjudicate?
“Can DRI adjudicate?-the emphatic answer is -A big NO. With reference to the 2003 Circular, you may note that till 1999, all DRI SCNs were approved by the jurisdictional Commissioners. However, the power to issue SCNs was vested with the DGAE and DRI vide a speicific Circular, and if I remember right, a notification was issued when the SCNs of more than 1 crore were to be approved by the Chief Commissioners giving this power to the DGRI. A little more homework is required to look into the past instructions before jumping on to write a story on such legally ticklish issues.”
This is a message we got from a netizen, apparently a DRI officer. Our question was exactly that. A DRI officer is a Customs officer – notified to that effect. And so should be eligible to adjudicate cases. If he is competent to issue Show Cause Notices, he should be competent to adjudicate too. The moot question is why does DRI stop with Show Cause Notices? Why do they shy away from adjudications?
The notification the netizen refers to must be actually Circular No 534/2000 dated 30.05.2000 dealing with the procedure to approve SCNs. With or without homework, the question is “do they have the power only to issue SCNs and not to adjudicate? On this there seems to be no clarification.