Supreme Court restores DRI officers’ powers to recover dues under Customs Act

In 2021, a three-judge seat headed by past CJI Sharad Bobde had held that for a DRI serviceman to workout the functions of a Customs officer, the Centre indispensable specifically workout its powerfulness to entrust specified functions connected “other officers” nether Section 6 of the Customs Act.

“Subject to the observations made successful this judgment, the officers of DRI, Commissionerates of Customs (Preventive), Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence and Commissionerates of Central Excise and different similarly-situated officers are due officers for the purposes of Section 28 and are competent to contented amusement origin announcement thereunder,” the seat held connected Thursday.

“The petition seeking a reappraisal of (the) Canon India (judgment) is allowed for the pursuing reasons…. In different words, the judgement successful Canon India was rendered without looking into the circular and notification, truthful earnestly affecting the correctness of the same. The determination successful Canon India failed to look into the statutory scheme,” it said.

The seat noted that successful 1999, a circular was issued by the CBEC, New Delhi that empowered officers of the DRI to contented notices nether Section 28 of the Customs Act. The tribunal besides recovered that a notification was issued successful 2011 which stated that DRI officers could execute the functions of a “proper officer” nether the Customs Act.

The tribunal ordered that each pending cases relating to show-cause notices nether Section 28 of the Customs Act indispensable present beryllium decided according to this verdict.