Amendment of section 5.
87. In section 5 of the Customs Act,––
(a) after sub-section (1), the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:––
“(1A) Without prejudice to the provisions contained in sub-section (1), the Board may, by notification, assign such functions as it may deem fit, to an officer of customs, who shall be the proper officer in relation to such functions.
(1B) Within their jurisdiction assigned by the Board, the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, may, by order, assign such functions, as he may deem fit, to an officer of customs, who shall be the proper officer in relation to such functions.”;
(b) after sub-section (3), the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:––
“(4) In specifying the conditions and limitations referred to in sub-section (1), and in assigning functions under sub-section (1A), the Board may consider any one or more of the following criteria, including, but not limited to––
(a) territorial jurisdiction;
(b) persons or class of persons;
(c) goods or class of goods;
(d) cases or class of cases;
(e) computer assigned random assignment;
(f) any other criterion as the Board may, by notification, specify.
(5) The Board may, by notification, wherever necessary or appropriate, require two or more officers of customs (whether or not of the same class) to have concurrent powers and functions to be performed under this Act.”.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 87 seeks to amend section 5 of the Customs Act relating to the powers of the officers of customs. It is proposed to insert a new sub-section (1A) in the said section so as to empower the Board to assign by notification, such functions as he may deem fit, to an officer of customs, who shall be the proper officer in relation to such functions.
It is further proposed to insert a new sub-section (1B) in the said section so as to empower the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs within their jurisdiction to assign by order such functions as he may deem fit to an officer of customs, who shall be the proper officer in relation to such functions.
It is also proposed to insert a new sub-section (4) in said section so as to provide the criteria which the Board may consider while specifying the conditions and limitations imposed under sub-section (1) and assigning functions under sub-section (1A) to an officer of customs.
It is also proposed to insert a new sub-section (5) in the said section so as to empower the Board in certain cases to specify by notification two or more officers of customs, whether or not of the same class, to have concurrent power and functions under the said Act.
