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Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
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Instruction No.04/2021-Customs
Room No.227B, North Block, New Delhi
Dated the 17th of March, 2021.
To
Principal Additional Director General,
Directorate General of Intelligence (DRI),
New Delhi.
Sir,
Subject:
Show Cause Notice (SCN) dated 19.03.2019 issued by DRI against Sh. Anil
Aggarwal and 11 others – Directions to keep SCN pending –reg.
Reference is
invited to the letters from your office drawing attention to the judgement
dated 09.03.2021 of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 1827 of 2018
in the case of M/s Canon India Private Limited vs Commissioner of Customs. Vide
the said judgement, the Hon`ble Apex Court has ruled that the Additional
Director General (ADG) of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is not
the proper officer to issue Show Cause Notice (SCN) under sub-section (4) of
section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962. The Apex Court has concluded that the
entire proceeding in the present case initiated by ADG (DRI) by issuing SCN,
as invalid and without any authority of law. The Apex Court has accordingly set
aside the subject SCN.
2. Further, attention is drawn to the specific
reference for seeking Board’s direction with respect to SCN dated 19.03.2019
against Sh. Anil Aggarwal and 11 others where the adjudication of the SCN
would get barred by the limitation of time on 18th March, 2021 under sub-section
(9) of section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962, on account of the inability to
proceed further due to the said judgement of the Hon`ble Supreme
Court.
3. The matter has been examined. The implications of the said
judgement are under active examination in the Board. Therefore, the Board has
decided that for the present and until further directions, the said SCN may
be kept pending.
4. Further, all the fresh SCNs under Section 28 of the
Customs Act, 1962 in respect of cases presently being investigated by DRI are
required to be issued by jurisdictional Commissionerates from where imports
have taken place.
5. Difficulties, if any, may please be brought to the
notice of Board. Hindi version follows.
Yours faithfully,
F.No.450/72/2021-Cus-IV
(Ananth Rathakrishnan)
Deputy Secretary (Customs)
For information :
1.All Principal Chief Commissioners/Chief Commissioners of Customs/Customs
(Preventive),
2.All Principal Chief Commissioners/Chief Commissioners of
Customs & Central tax,
3.All Principal Commissioners/Commissioners of
Customs/Customs (Preventive),
4.All Principal Commissioners/Commissioners of
Customs & Central tax,
5.All Principal Director Generals/Director Generals
under CBIC.
(Ananth Rathakrishnan)
Deputy Secretary (Customs)
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