Section 12 of CEA'44 - Notification 68/63CE - case of missing Section 110A of Customs Act
A Netizen recently wrote to us highlighting one trans"Act"ual inadvertently missing amendment that has remained to be carried out in Notification 68/63CE, dated 4.5.1963 as amended.
"By the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2006 [w.e.f 13.7.2006] a new section 110A was inserted in the Customs Act, 1962 & which reads - "Provisional Release of goods, documents and things seized pending adjudication - Any goods, documents or things seized under 110, may, pending the order of the adjudicating officer, be released to the owner on taking a bond from him in the proper form with such security and conditions as the Commissioner of Customs may require."
Since in terms of Section 12 of the CEA'44, some provisions of Customs Act have been made applicable to the matters of Central Excise under notification 68/63CE & section 110 being one of them, it logically follows that section 110A inserted by the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2006 should also find a place in this notification."
You are right Sir & thanks for bringing it to our notice too - the Board needs to take cognizance of this fact and do the needful.
But then, under which section were the powers being exercised earlier? Probably, from Board's own Supplementary Excise Manual which in Chapter 17, Part-I, paragraph 3.2 says - "The power to release seized goods emanates from the power to seize. The goods seized may be released provisionally under bond in the Format specified under the erstwhile Central Excise Rules, 1944 [B-11 bond] along with 25% security or surety by the officer who is normally competent to adjudicate the case."