Powers of adjudication of officers of Central Excise - Provisions relating to appeals - Changes consequent to amendment of Central Excises & Salt Act in Finance Act, 1992 - Regarding - Central Excise - 3/92-CX 6

Powers of adjudication of officers of Central Excise - Provisions relating to appeals - Changes consequent to amendment of Central Excises Salt Act in Finance Act, 1992 - Regarding Circular No. 3/92-CX 6 Dated 14-5-1992 [From F. No. 208/26/92-CX.6] Government of India Central Board of Excise Customs New Delhi Subject : Powers of adjudication of officers of Central Excise - Provisions relating to appeals - Changes consequent to amendment of Central Excises Salt Act in Finance Act, 1992 - Regarding. Reference to Clause 116 of the Finance Bill, 1992 which seeks to amend the provisions of Section 11A of the Central Excises and Salt Act. The Bill has received President's assent today. Consequent to this amendment the issue of laying down monetary limits for powers of adjudication of officers of different ranks has been examined by the Board and it has been decided to supersede all existing instructions on the subject and to lay down following monetary limits for adjudication of Central Excise cases other than the cases relating to approval of classification list and price lists :- Designation of officers Amount of duty involved 1. Collector Without limit 2. Additional Collector/ Up to Rs. ten lakhs Deputy Collector 3. Assistant Collector Up to Rs. fifty thousand. Notes : (a) Where simultaneously different cases involving the same issue are due to be adjudicated in Collectorate all such cases will be adjudicated by the officer competent to decide the case where the duty involved is the highest amount. (b) Confiscation of goods, and levy of penalties will follow from above powers of confiscation based on merits of the case. Notwithstanding the amendment to Section 11A in Finance Act, 1992, it has been decided that only Collectors of Central Excise and Collector of Central Excise (Judicial) will issue and decide demands in cases where allegation of fraud, suppression etc. are involved, both six months period laid down in Section 11A, and within the five years period in proviso to Section 11A. Suitable executive instructions may please be issued in this regard to all Additional Collectors/Deputy Collectors, Assistant Collectors and Superintendents in your jurisdiction. The definition of 'Collector' as contained in Rule 2(ii) has been amended vide Notification No. 11/92-C.E. (N.T.), dated 14-5-1992. Accordingly, an Additional Collector of Central Excise is not a 'Collector' for purposes of appeal. Therefore, appeal against the order-in-original passed by an Additional Collector of Central Excise shall lie to the Collector of Central Excise (Appeals), and not to the CEGAT as at present. The preamble to all such orders being passed after the enactment of the Finance Act, 1992 shall be amended accordingly. The appeals in respect of orders passed before that date would, however, continue to lie to the CEGAT. In addition, Additional Collectors also will not repeat will not henceforth issue demands answerable to them under proviso to Section 11A involving allegation, of fraud, suppression etc. If any such demands have already been issued and made answerable to Additional Collectors, Collectors and Collectors (Judicial) may take over such cases, where orders have not been passed either on note sheet or as an order-in-original.