More than Rupees Five Crores to be Adjudicated by
ADG (Adjudication) at DGCEI
[CBEC Circular No. 994 dated 10th February 2015]
Sub:
Instructions regarding adjudication of Central Excise and Service Tax Cases
booked by DGCEI.
Attention is
invited to Notification no 38/2001 – C.E (N.T) dt 26-6-2001 as amended from
time to time whereby the officers of various ranks of Directorate General of
Central Excise Intelligence have been appointed by the Board as the officers of
Central Excise of the corresponding ranks for exercise of all powers under the
Central Excise Act, 1944 and rules made thereunder, throughout the territory of
India.
2. Officers of DGCEI, as Central Excise Officers,
issue show cause notices in cases investigated by them. These Show Cause
Notices are adjudicated by either the field Commissioners or by the
Commissioner (adjudication). Cases to be adjudicated by Commissioner
(adjudication) were specified by the orders of the Board.
3. Pursuant to the Cadre structuring and
reorganization of CBEC, new posts in the rank of Principal Commissioners of
Central Excise or Commissioners of Central Excise have been created in DGCEI,
for various purposes including for adjudication of cases. Additional Director
General (Adjudication) in DGCEI shall adjudicate cases where the show cause
notices are issued by the officers of DGCEI. The practice of adjudication of
DGCEI cases by field Commissioners shall also continue.
4. Powers of the Board under sub-rule 2 of rule 3
of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, have been conferred on Chief Commissioners
of Central Excise by notification no. 11/2007-C.E (N.T) dt. 1-3-2007 to specify
the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Central Excise for the purposes of
adjudication within his jurisdiction. Director General of CEI has jurisdiction
over the ADGs. Now, the jurisdiction of Director General has been extended over
to Principal Commissioners/ Commissioners of Central Excise vide notification
number 2/15 –C.E. (N.T) dt. 10-02-15 so that he may assign cases, where show
cause notices have been issued by the officers of the DGCEI, for adjudication
to the field Commissioners also.
5. To assign cases for adjudication amongst the
Additional Director General (Adjudication) and the field Commissioners
following general guidelines shall be followed:-
(i) All cases where the duty involved is more than
Rs 5 crores shall be adjudicated by the ADG (Adjudication).
(ii) Cases to be adjudicated by the executive
Commissioner, when pertaining to jurisdiction of one executive Commissioner of
Central Excise, shall be adjudicated by the said executive Commissioner of the
Central Excise.
(iii) Cases to be adjudicated by
the executive Commissioner, when pertaining to jurisdiction of multiple
Commissionerates, shall be adjudicated by the Commissioner in whose
jurisdiction the noticee from whom the highest demand of duty has
been made falls. In these cases, an order shall be issued by the Director
General, exercising the powers of the Board, assigning appropriate jurisdiction
to the executive Commissioner for the purposes of adjudication of the
identified case.
(iv) Where DGCEI proposes
appointment of an adjudicating authority not in conformity with the above
guidelines, DGCEI shall forward such proposal to the Board.
(v) Past cases pending adjudication
shall be examined in the light of above guidelines and DGCEI shall take
appropriate action such as assigning the cases to the appropriate adjudicating
authority, issuing corrigendum to the show cause notices, appointing common
adjudicating authority or forwarding proposal for appointment of the
adjudicating authority by the Board as may be necessary.
(vi) Cases to be adjudicated by
the officers below the rank of Commissioner shall be adjudicated only by the
field officers in the executive Commissionerates and the above guidelines shall
apply mutatis-mutandis.
6. Above guidelines shall also apply
mutatis-mutandis to the Service Tax cases booked by DGCEI. Notification no.
2/15-Service Tax dt. 10-02-15 has been issued to provide necessary jurisdiction
to the DG, CEI over the Principal Commissioners and Commissioners of Service
Tax in this regard.
7. Difficulty, if any in implementing this
circular may be brought to the notice of the Board. Hindi version shall follow.
F. No.
208/03/2012-CX.6