CENTRAL BOARD OF INDIRECT TAXES AND CUSTOMS (CBIC) INTRODUCES NEW CHANGES AS PER THE FINANCE ACT

Amendments in the Customs Act, 1962

Extract from Explanatory Memorandum

2(34)

This section is amended to make it clear that the assignment of functions to a Customs officer by the Board or by the Principal Commissioner or by the Commissioner of Customs will be done under the newly inserted sub-section (1A) and (1B) of section 5 of the Customs Act, 1962.

3

Amendments were made to specifically include the officers of DRI, Audit, and Preventive formation in the Class of Officers. This amendment has been made to remove any ambiguity regarding the class of Customs officers.

5 (1A) & 5 (1B)

Recently inserted Sub-section (1A) and (1B) in section 5 of the Act for providing explicit power of assignment of functions to Custom officers by the Board or as the case may be, by the Principal Commissioner of Customs or by the Commissioner of Customs. This amendment has been necessitated to correct the infirmity identified by the courts in recent judgments that the Act required a clear provision that empowered for assignment of function to Custom officers as proper officers for the purposes of the Act, excluding the definition clause (34) in Section 2 of the Customs Act.

5 (4)

Sub-section (4) of section 5 is being inserted to specify the criteria that the Board may adopt while imposing restrictions or conditions under sub-section (1) or while assigning a function under sub-section (1A) to the Customs officer. For example, one of the limitations/conditions that the Board currently imposes on Customs officers is that they are required to operate within a particular territorial jurisdiction. However, an introduction to faceless assessments and other trade facilitation initiatives wherein, for example, a need realized for the development of industry-specific expertise in assessments the Board may need to limit the jurisdiction to a certain type of goods or a certain class of goods.

5 (5)

Sub-section (5) to section 5 is being inserted to ensure that wherever necessary, for the power management of work, two or more officers of customs, can concurrently exercise powers and functions (for instance, in the case of faceless assessment)

110AA

Section 110AA is inserted for the purpose of ensuring that, wherever possible, an original function duly exercised by a competent officer of jurisdiction, is the subject matter of a subsequent inquiry, investigation, audit or any other particular purpose specified by any other Customs officer, then, notwithstanding, such inquiry, investigation, audit or any other purpose, the officer, who originally exercised such jurisdiction for further action like re-examination, adjudications, etc. as a result of the completion of such inquiry, investigation, audit or any other purpose.