REVENUETRANSPARENCY TIMES

English MonthlyTransparency weeds out corruption

Opaqueness breeds it

RNI Regd. No. : DELENG/2009/29517

International Standard Serial Number 2348 – 2958

For e-paper, visit : www.thertt.com

New Delhi Vol : VI No. 1 Pages: 16 September 2014 Price: Rs 20/- (Per copy)US $1 (Per copy) Outside India

“Does size matter…!!”

Dr. G. K. Sarkar, M.Sc (Physics), LLM, Ph.D (Law)

The commemorative th5 Year issue of the

RTT with whom I have an association of as many years is being brought out. RTT has shown in its years of existence that it may be small but is definitely p o w e r f u l , newspaper . The credit of it goes to its

Editor who has over time exhibited the guts not possessed even by the biggest of the newspapers. RTT has managed to survive simply on

contributions of the people who had faith in it. The publisher in the last five years has not compromised for the sake of advertisements or for any craving of power or profit- the common evils that inflicts many in the media. While complementing A. K. Banerjee, the Publisher for his endeavor, we all wish that his efforts lasts long and grows, with the same quality being maintained. On the occasion of this commemorative issue, I dig deep down in my memory archives and bring down this untold story of how the Goa Customs Museum was conceptualized:

Somesh AroraCCO, Amicus

Rarus, Ex-Comm,Customs &

Central Excise

Continued on page 6

Black MoneyIndian Scene.

Continued on page 07

Continued on page 8

Excisability s t i l l n o t understood properly by the high andthe mighty

Five Years of Revenue

Transparency Times

Imagine, even a latest Tribunal Judgment is pretty much wrong on this issue . I respectfully disagree with this j u d g e m e n t o f t h e CESTAT which says that “press mud and sludge are specified in the First Schedule of the Central Excise Tariff against Heading Nos. 23032000 and 23033000 but they are not subject to a duty of excise, as under the rate column the duty of excise

is indicated as nil. ……… Hence till such time, no duty is specified in the First Schedule of the Central Excise Tariff, press mud and sludge cannot be considered to be excisable goods”. The judgement, therefore, says that the rate of duty being nil, the goods are not excisable. This is what according to me is precisely wrong. The correct position is that even if the rate of duty is nil, the goods can still be excisable, if they are manufactured and are marketable goods. I am not writing about the other factual portions of the judgement regarding the admissibility of CENVAT credit but only on the theoretical issue : When the rate of duty is shown as nil in the Central Excise Tariff, are the goods excisable? The judgement has relied on the definition of excisable goods in Section 2(d) which is as follows: “Excisable goods means goods specified in

the First Schedule and the Second Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (5 of 1986) as being subject to a duty of excise”

.We have to read also the charging section 3 and

subsection (a) which says that the rate prescribed in the tariff for excisable goods will be levied and collected. So the

SukumarMukhopadhyay,Member, Central

Board of Excise &Customs (retd)

Continued on page 8

MONEY LAUNDERINGMURPH ’S GOLDEN RULE “We live by the golden rules.

People who have the gold make the rules”.

SOME IMPORTANT SUPREME COURT JUDGMENTS ON MONEY LAUNDERING

PMLA being a recent enactment, there are but a few judgments on this crucial act. Nevertheless, the following judgments will cast some light on judicial thinking in the matter. For reasons of finality, only the Supreme Court judgments have been factored in.

Binod Kumar vs State Of Jharkhand & Ors. on 29 March, 2011

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 2689 OF 2011

(Arising out of SLP (Civil) No.24211 of 2010)

36. According to Mr. Raval, a bare reading of the said provision makes it clear that the jurisdiction to initiate action of attachment has

to be founded on a reasonable belief of a person being in possession of any proceeds of the crime and not on a concluded investigation of the person being in possession of the proceeds of the crime. The distinction is clear and it follows from Section 5(1)(b) that the second condition for initiation of action of attachment of property involved in money laundering is that such person in respect of whom there is reason to believe that he is in possession of any proceeds of the crime, has been charged of having committed a scheduled offence.

37. Mr. Raval contended that if the contentions of the appellant were true, then the sections of the said Act would have been differently worded. He also submitted that the contention of the appellant on the basis of provisions of sections 43 to 45 that any of the

While so much is happening worldwide what's happening in India? Estimate of black money held by I n d i a n s i n Switzerland varies. T h i s f i g u r e i s somewhere between two billion and one trillion US dollars! E a c h s o u r c e i s quoting a different figure and nobody is

sure. It's all gustimate! It's like trying to identify an elephant in a dark room by blind people. Be that as it may. The fact remains that a large amount of India's legitimate wealth is lying in secret bank accounts in Swiss and many other such tax havens. Though the quantum of such stashed away money is required to be quantified, that's not very important. The need of the hour is to get that money back to India. What are we doing in that direction? Pretty much nothing! Now and then the government sources hand out some press notes claiming unearthing of black money from Swiss. So far we have heard about a few thousand crores in in this regard. India's request for details about 650 Indians and their accounts in Swiss banks haven't yielded any results. Each is questioning the other on various small and irrelevant details but missing the vital question. The Swiss authorities are stubbornly refusing to part with details and Indian government pleads helplessness. One thing is clear. Swiss authorities are determined not to part with details of stashed-away money belonging to Indian citizens; at the same time Indian government is less than enthusiastic to get the details. Whom do we blame? While this ding-dong battle is going on, recent developments like multilateral convention of OECD initiative may break the logjam to certain extent. We have to keep a vigil on future developments and strike at the opportune moment to get our money back.P-Notes. But the most worrying factor is the attitude of the Indian government to stop

S. ManickavasagamEx Chief CommissionerCBEC & Member CAT

The answer is ' yes ' whomsoever is asked the question “Does size matter! " But how much? No clear answer is possible, though the extent can b e g u e s s e d o r estimated. In this cutting age era we are on the look for finer

to finer. It is the era of Nanotechnology. Nano -9means 1 x 10 . This is even much finer than

the thickness of a hair. The usefulness of Nano-Technology is

known to all of us and there is unequivocal praise for such discovery and utilisation of the technology. So, undoubtedly the movement of the human civilization is to find fine to finer substance and make use of it for the mankind. Is it the same way we can deduce that small to smaller animals or human beings are of great liking to us? I have serious doubt. Even to-day the Matrimonial advertisement in our National Dailies very easily emphasizes the ' indent ' for ' tall bride or groom.' It does not take any time to say without a fraction of doubt or hesitation that so far the material world is concerned small to smaller, fine to finer things are appreciated but the same may

not be equally applicable for the living world. The glorious liking for bigger animals, taller persons are often seen. Worldwide Interest in the study of Dinosaurs is known to us and we see with blooming eyes the dresses and arms of ancient personalities in the museums and estimate their tall and stout bodies with all praises. But that does not mean there is much scope for praising a fat person.

It may be because of above eventuality

the bigger the rank of the officer more is the

attraction till attains the maximum tolerable

limit i.e. superannuation. Once retired

generally lost in the ocean of unknown world.

It is the good deeds and humanity once shown

during the period of his service earns respect

even after the retirement. No doubt the power-

crazy, trigger-happy persons are ignored the

way they have been recognised during their

powerful days. Many of them from the

sideline of the field might be able to see that

their devaluation is abrupt and the much

smaller persons (as they always thought) are

in a much better position. It is “Kissa Kursi

ka." There is no Kissa when the Kursi is lost.

But those who spent their life sitting on a plain

stool, is not a fish out of water remotely even

when loose the same. But practically, it is seen

that they are offered chairs because of genuine

Continued on page 9

A K AgnihotriEx-Comm, Customs& Central Excise

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September 20142

FIR, probe must in encounters: SCThe Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that henceforth all encounter killings by police will be thoroughly investigated after registration of FIRs to “bring to justice the perpetrators of the crime who take law in their own hands”. Issuing detailed guidelines, the court held an “independent investigation into the encounter shall be conducted by the CID or police team of another police station under the supervision of a senior officer at least a level above the head of the police party engaged in the encounter”. “We are of the view that it would be useful and effective to structure appropriate guidelines to restore faith of the people in police force. In a society governed by rule of law, it is imperative that extra-judicial killings are properly and independently investigated so that justice may be done,” said a bench led by Chief Justice of India R M Lodha. The probe report shall be forwarded to the court concerned so that a magisterial inquiry is carried out and a final report, in the form of a chargesheet or a closure report, is presented, it said. “No out-of-turn promotion or instant gallantry rewards shall be bestowed on the concerned officers soon after the occurrence. It must be ensured at all costs that such rewards are given or recommended only when the gallantry of the concerned officers is established beyond doubt,” said the bench, also comprising Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton F Nariman. The bench said, “The killings in police encounters affect the credibility of the rule of law and the administration of the criminal justice system. It is the constitutional duty of this court to put in place certain guidelines adherence to which would help in bringing to justice the perpetrators of the crime who take law in their own hands.”

It said that if an incriminating chargesheet is filed against the police officers, the trial must be concluded expeditiously, apart from initiating disciplinary action against such officers and placing them under suspension. The bench said the trial court shall grant compensation to the dependants of the encounter victim under Section 357-A of the IPC. The relatives of a victim can also approach a sessions court if the authorities fail to comply with the Supreme Court directives on either starting a probe or conducting it impartially. The court said that if a police officer was found to be prima facie accused of an offence, he or she will surrender his or her weapons and any other material, subject to the rights against self-incrimination. An intimation about the incident, the court said, must also be sent to the police officer's family and legal assistance should also be provided if asked for. The court was hearing petitions by NGO People's Union for Civil Liberties, which had raised the issue of genuineness or otherwise of nearly 99 encounters between the Mumbai Police and alleged criminals resulting in death of about 135 persons between 1995 and 1997. The court regretted that in spite of Constitutional and statutory provisions aimed at safeguarding the personal liberty and life of a citizen, the death in police encounters continued to occur. It underscored that the court was “not oblivious to the fact that police in India has to perform a difficult task when many hardcore criminals with organised gangs have taken strong roots in society. “But then such criminals must be dealt with by the police in an efficient and effective manner so as to bring them to justice by following rule of law,” it said.Source: Indian Express

Mumbai bullion king's nephew arrested in Rs.7,000 crore hawala case

The Ahmedabad wing of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Rakesh Kothari, a nephew of Prithviraj Kothari, the managing director of Mumbai-based Riddhi Siddhi Bullions Ltd (RSBL), in connection with the Rs.7,000-crore hawala scam. Over the last four months, the ED has been probing a multi-crore hawala scam in which, till now, a total of 79 people have been named in a chargesheet, including key accused Afroze Fatta and Madanlal Jain who have been booked under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Fatta and Jain are currently in the ED's custody. According to the agency, Rakesh handled some of the suspicious and questionable transactions than need further investigation. ED sources told IndiaToday.in that Rakesh sent money abroad and paid commission to hawala agents involved in the scam. "Probably money sent abroad is related to gold smuggling done last year," said an investigating officer. When Prithviraj Kothari was asked for his reaction on his nephew's arrest, he replied in a press statement, saying, "Rakesh is not involved with our company (RSBL) in any way or in any capacity. In fact, he is not even in the bullion field." "Though he has blood ties with me, but absolutely no business ties," said the RSBL MD. In his statement, Prithviraj appealed to the media not to carry reports that may tarnish "my or my firm's image". He said, "We at RSBL always believe in conducting a thoroughly legal and transparent business and we stringently adhere to the principles of corporate governance and transparency." RSBL deals in bullion, specialising in bars and coins of precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum. When IndiaToday.in investigated Rakesh

Kothari and his background, it was found that the so-called Bullion King had not revealed the truth. Rakesh Kothari might not be directly connected to RSBL, but he is the director of Sparsh - a product of RSBL Dia Jewels Pvt Ltd. Sparsh is a jewellery collection brand that deals in "glittering diamonds, deep reddish rubies, green emeralds, and cool blue sapphires to semi-precious stones like peridot, turquoise, topaz, tourmaline and aquamarine", according to its website. IndiaToday.in also possesses a copy of Rakesh Kothari's visiting card - which he has been exchanging with his clients (see picture). As per this visiting card, Rakesh Kothari is the director of Sparsh, his official address is Bullion House, Pydhonie (also the office of RSBL and Prithviraj Kothari) and his e m a i l i d i s : rkothari@rsbl.co.in<mailto:rkothari@rsbl.co.in<mailto:rkothari@rsbl.co.in%3cmailto:rkothari@rsbl.co.in>> When RSBL was asked again on Rakesh's position in Sparsh, the email statement said, "He is not a director in RSBL Dia Jewels or related to any business". As of now, ED officials said that they have almost unravelled the network of hawala operators and businessmen through which over Rs.7,000 crore was sent outside India. "We have detected the involvement of many businessmen from across the country, including jewellers. The racket was run from Surat and Mumbai. Besides Fatta, Madan Lal Jain and Bilal Haroon Gilani, other hawala operators are also involved," said an ED official. ED sources said the investigation has been widened after Rakesh Kothari's arrest. "Names of big bullion traders are there, now we will gather evidence against all of them," said an official.Source: Indiatoday.in

Scrap dealer's cache yields

`oldest' sound recordingsMumbai customs officer unearths rare

gems in cylinders that contain voices of

Rabindranath Tagore, Ustad Alladiya

Khan and Pandit Paluskar The customs office in the city's Dadar

district has in its safekeeping a box

containing a rare treasure, and it did not

come from a seizure of illegal goods.

Commissioner of Customs and Central

Excise Amar Nath Sharma claims to have

unearthed the oldest and rarest sound

recordings in Indian history dating back

to 1899. His cache of 200-odd `brown

wax cylinders' introduces the voice of

Ustad Alladiya Khan, the founder of the

Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, and Pandit V D

Paluskar who founded the Gandharva

Mahavidyalay , “artistes whom no living

Indian has heard“. Cylinders are hollow wax rolls about

six inches in length that are played on a

phonogram. The phono was invented by

Thomas Edison but fell into disuse with

the entry of the circular disc in 1902. The

collection includes `Vande Mataram' in

the voice of Rabindranath Tagore, which

was recorded by Tagore's friend

Hemendra Bose in the wake of the

Partition of Bengal in 1905. Vignettes of

the fabled courte san from Calcutta,

Gauhar Jaan, a Parsi theatre artiste from

Jaipur named Miss Al lah Bandi, as well

as doyens like Peara Sahab figure

prominently on the list. Par ticularly

relevant to Maha rashtra are the founding

fa thers of the Marathi ̀ sangeetnatak' like

Pt Bhaurao Kolhatkar, Pt Bhaskarbuwa

Bakhle and Bal Gandharva. Sharma says, “India has no archive

that documents the history of sound

record ing, be it classical or film mu sic,

but it is commonly under stood that

recording began in 1902 after the advent

of the disc that is played on the

gramophone. However, we have found

wax cylinders dating back to 1899, and

these are played on a phonogram.“ He

bought the phono from a shop in Chor

Bazaar in Mumbai. The officer's quest for old discs began

two decades at roadside stalls. He sourced

a few cylinders from private collectors

over the years, and began documenting

the ones he had for a book. Then, as if by

divine hand, last Decem ber he chanced

upon a cache of 200 cylinders at a kabadir

wallah (scrap dealer's) stall.e Source:http:www.timesofindia.com

Instructions in light of Judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court on Sales Tax Incentive Scheme

Kind attention is invited to the judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of M/s Super Synotex India Ltd. [2014-TIOL-19-SC-CX] on the issue of abatement of sales tax under an abatement scheme where the assesse was allowed to retain 75% of the sales tax collected from the buyer and was required to deposit only the remaining 25% with the State Government. Under the circumstances, Hon'ble Court held that after 01.07.2000 i.e. under the transaction value regime, 75% of the sales tax retained by the assesse would form part of the assessable value, stating as follows in the paragraph 22, “ The amount paid or payable to the State Government towards sales tax, VAT, etc. is excluded because it is not an amount paid to the manufacturer towards the price, but an amount paid or payable to the State Government for sale transaction, i.e. transfer of title from the manufacturer to a third party.

Accordingly, the amount paid to the State Government is only excludible from the transaction value. What is not payable or to be paid as sales tax/VAT, should not be charged from the third customer/party but if it is charged and is not payable or paid, it is a part and should not be excluded from the transaction value. This is the position after the amendment, for as per the amended provisions the words “transaction value” mean payment made on actual basis or actually paid by the assesse. The words that gain significance are “actually paid”. ” 2) For further details the judgment may kindly be referred. This is an important judgment on the issue and may be brought to the notice of the trade and the assessing officers for finalisation of similar cases. Hindi version will follow. Difficulty, if any, in the implementation of the instruction may be brought to the notice of the Board.

F. No. 6/8/2014-CX.1 (ROHAN) OSD CX-6

CBI REGISTERS A CASE AGAINST SENIOR MANAGER AND TWO OTHER OFFICIALS OF INDIRA SAGAR POWER STATION FOR ALLEGED IRREGULARITIES IN AWARDING THE TENDER

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case U/s 120-B, 420,468, 471 of IPC and Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of PC Act, 1988 against Sr. Manager (P&C); Manager (Works); Assistant Manager (Finance), all of Indira Sagar Power Station, NHDC, Narmada Nagar, Distt. Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh) and one private firm of Nagpur. It was alleged that the accused have entered into criminal conspiracy with each other and awarded the

tender for providing the Secretarial Work Services in various offices of Indira Sagar Power Station, NHDC, Khandwa for Rs.66.90 lacs(approx.)on the basis of forged experience certificate allegedly signed by Assistant Commissioner, Tribal Development, Betul.

Searches were conducted today at three places at Indore; Khandwa & Faridabad in the residential & official premises of accused persons.

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September 20143

Amends Notification No. 12/97-CUSTOMS

(N.T.), dated the 2nd April, 1997 Notification No. 86/2014- Customs (N.T.)

G.S.R.....(E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (aa) of sub-section (1) of section 7 of the Customs Act,1962 (52 of 1962), the Central Board of Excise and Customs, hereby makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No. 12/97- CUSTOMS (N.T.),

nd dated the 2 April, 1997, published in the

Gazette of India, vide number G.S.R. nd193(E), dated the 2 April, 1997, namely:-

In the said notification, in the Table, against serial number 12 relating to the State of Uttar Pradesh, after item (xii) and the entries relating thereto, in columns (3) and (4), the following item and the entries shall respectively be inserted, namely:-

[F.No. 434/24/2010-Cus IV]

( R.P.Singh)

Director (Customs)

Note : The principal notification No. 12/97-CUSTOMS (N.T.), dated the

nd2 April, 1997 was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number

ndG.S.R. 193(E), dated the 2 April, 1997 and last amended vide notification No.

nd 74/2014- Customs(N.T.), dated the 2September,2014 vide number G.S.R

nd 634(E), dated the 2 September,2014.

Appointment of officers in various

DirectoratesNOTIFICATION

No. 22/2014-SERVICE TAX

G.S.R (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (b) of section 2 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), read with clause (55) of section 65B of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994), rule 3 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 and rule 3 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 and in supercession of the notification No. 46/98-SERVICE TAX, dated

ththe 28 January,1998, published vide number thG.S.R. 59(E), dated the 28 January, 1998 and

thNo. 7/2004-CE, dated the 11 March, 2004, published vide number G.S.R 187(E), dated

ththe 11 March, 2004, the Central Board of

Excise and Customs hereby appoints the officers in the Directorate General of Audit, Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence and Directorate General of Service Tax specified in column (2) of the Table below as Central Excise Officers and invests them with all the powers under Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994) and the rules made there under, throughout the territory of India, as are exercisable by the Central Excise Officers of the corresponding rank as specified in column (3) of the said Table, namely:-

TABLE

th2. This notification shall come into force on 15 October, 2014.

(Himani Bhayana)Under Secretary to the Government of India

[F.No 137/29/2014-Service Tax]

Smoked meat deadlier than liquor, may increase risk of cancer

When meat or fish is cooked directly over fire, it gets covered with cancer-causing

carcinogens, making it more dangerous, according to a study.

Smoked meat red meat or fish dipped in greasy oil, and covered with a mix of salt, chilli powder and spices, before it is cooked directly over fire is one of the most common causes of cancer of the foodpipe in the state, doctors from G o v e r n m e n t G e n e r a l H o s p i t a l announced at a scientific conference in V a n c o u v e r , C a n a d a . When meat or fish is cooked directly over fire, it gets covered with cancer-causing carcinogens, making it more dangerous than even smoking or consumption of alcohol, surgical gasteroentrologist Dr S M Chandramohan said. As a part of an ongoing study, G o v e r n m e n t G e n e r a l H o s p i t a l ' s department of surgical gastroenterology asked five undergraduate medical students to quiz 101 cancer patients about their lifestyle and eating habits and compare them with answers to the same questions by healthy people. Statistical analysis of the data gathered showed that people eating smoked meat were at up to nine times higher risk of developing cancer compared to people who did not have it on their diet. The study found that people who smoked had an eight times higher risk of contracting cancer than others and those who consumed alcohol were at four times higher risk. This is not the first time smoked meat has been linked to cancer. The National

Cancer Institute in the USA has linked barbequed or grilled meat to cancer. Coal or gas used to cook meat emits chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) that adhere to meat. Laboratory tests show these substances can cause cancer in animals. " S o m e s t u d i e s h a v e l i n k e d occupational exposure to PAH to cancer in humans," Dr Chandramohan said. Food experts say when salty, fatty meat exposed to smoke of wood or coal absorbs large amounts of tar, which may contain carcinogens. "In that sense, eating smoked meat isn't very different from smoking tobacco," said Dr Rajendran Vellaisamy, who was a part of the study. The researchers admit that various factors outside the study are linked to cancer, but say the risks they found should be considered. For instance, during the interviews, many people with cancer, par ticularly those in lower socioeconomic groups, said they ate sutta karuvadu (dried fish cooked in direct fire) or leftover rice with karuvadu fry (deep fried dried fish). "Many households reuse oil and that could be one of the factors that triggered cancer," Rajendran said. "We're not saying 'no deep fries or smoked meat at all'. We do not have direct evidence to say that with certainty. But the study helps us know which foods are high-risk and should be avoided.Source: Times of India

CBI ARRESTS AN ABSCONDING PRIVATE PERSON IN A ALLEGED FRAUD IN OBTAINING DUTY FREE REPLENISHMENT CERTIFICATE FROM DGFT

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a private person who was declared Proclaimed Offender by the Trial Court in a case relating to alleged fraud in the Duty Free Replenishment Certificates (DFRCs) obtained from Directorate of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Mumbai during 2005. An alleged loss of Rs.2,17,39,527/- (approx) was caused to Custom Department. After investigation, a chargesheet was filed

on 06.10.2008 in the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, U/s 120-B r/w 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC against 11 private accused persons. The said person was absconding and after sustained efforts, CBI arrested him at Surat, Gujarat. The arrested accused was produced in the Trial Court and was remanded to Judicial Custody till 24.09.2014.

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September 20144CBI ARRESTS AN ADMINISTRATIVE

OFFICER OF INCOME TAX IN BRIBERY CASE

The Central Bureau of Investigation has a r r e s t e d a n A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Officer/Drawing & Disbursing Officer, Income Tax, Dehradun for demanding & accepting a bribe of Rs. 10,000/- from the Complainant. A case was registered on the c o m p l a i n t a l l e g i n g t h a t t h e Administrative Officer/Drawing & Disbursing Officer working in the office of Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, D e h r a d u n ( U t t a r a k h a n d ) w a s

demanding a bribe of Rs. 10,000/- for clearance of two bills amounting to Rs. 72,000/- related to hiring of vehicles by the Income Tax Department. CBI laid a t r a p a n d t h e A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Officer/Drawing & Disbursing Officer, Income Tax, Dehradun was caught while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 10,000/- from the Complainant. The arrested accused was produced before the Special Judge for CBI cases, Dehradun and remanded to Judicial Custody.

CBI raids officials of Customs and Central Excise Department

MUMBAI: The CBI registered three cases under thePrevention of Corruption Act against officials of the Customs and Central Excise department as well as Ispat India Ltd. “Al legedly , customs of f ic ia ls favoured Ispat and in return received bribes between 2006 and 2010. The fact came to light after seizures made by the Income Tax Department on Ispat offices,"

the CBI spokesperson in a statement. The CBI had also carried out searches at 13 places (11 residential and two office p r e m i s e s ) i n c l u d i n g o f f i c e s o f Commissioner Shobha Ram and Additional Commissioner B S Meena. Searches were still on, the CBI official said.Source: The Economic Times

NotificationNo. 81/ 2014 -Customs (N.T.)

G.S.R.--(E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 4, read with sub- section (1) of section 5 of the Customs Act,1962 (52 of 1962) and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, No.

th36/2009-CUSTOMS (N.T.), dated the 17 March ,2009, published vide number G.S.R.

th172(E), dated the 17 March, 2009, except as

respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Board of Excise and Customs hereby appoints the following officers specified in column (2) of the Table below as the officers of Customs having jurisdiction over the area mentioned in column (4) and of the rank specified in the corresponding entry in column (3) of the said Table, namely:-

th2. This notification shall come into force with effect from 15 October, 2014. (R.P.Singh)Director to the Government of India [F.No 437/48/2014-Cus IV (Pt.)]

Seeks to amend notification No.12/2012-Cus dated 17.3.2012

Notification No. 28/2014-Customs

G.S.R. (E).- In exercise of the powers

conferred by sub-section (1) of section 25

of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the

Central Government, being satisfied that

it is necessary in the public interest so to

do, hereby makes the following further

amendments in the notification of the

Government of India, in the Ministry of

Finance (Department of Revenue), No. th12/2012-Customs, dated the 17 March,

2012, published in the Gazette of India,

Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-

section (i), vide number G.S.R. 185(E), thdated the 17 March, 2012, namely:-

In the said notification,-

(i) in the Table, against serial number

282, in column (3), in item (y), for the

figures “500”, the figures “1000” shall be

substituted;

(ii) after the Table, in the proviso, in

clause (bc), for the words and figures

“first day of January,2015”, the figures,

letters and words “1st day of April, 2015”

shall be substituted.

[F.No. 354/141/2012-TRU]

(Pramod Kumar)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note: The principal notification No. th12/2012-Customs, dated the 17 March,

2012, was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R.

th185(E), dated the 17 March, 2012 and last amended vide notification No.

st26/2014-Customs, dated the 21 August, 2014, published vide number G.S.R. 603

st(E), dated the 21 August, 2014

Seeks to amend Notification No 39/96- Customs,

dated the 23rd July, 1996Notification No. 27 /2014-Customs

G.S.R.- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Central Government, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following further amendment in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No.

rd39/96-Customs, dated the 23 July, 1996, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, vide number G.S.R.

rd291(E), dated the 23 July, 1996, namely:- In the said notification, in the Table, after S.No.31 and the entries relating thereto, the following S.No. and entries shall be inserted, namely:-

[F.No.354/32/2006 TRU] (Akshay Joshi)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note:- The principal notification No.39/96-Customs dated the 23rd July, 1996 was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 291 (E), dated the 23rd July,1996 and last

amended vide notification No. 20/2014-th

Customs dated the 11 July,2014, publ i shed in Gazet te o f India , Extraordinary part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R.467 (E),

thdated the 11 July,2014.

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September 20145

Amendments to the Appeal provisions in Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax

made by Finance Act, 2014- Issue of clarifications he Finance Act (No.2), 2014 has Tbeen enacted on 06.08.2014. Section 35F of the Central Excise

Act, 1944 and Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 have been substituted with new sections to prescribe mandatory pre-deposit as a percentage of the duty demanded where duty demanded is in dispute or where duty demanded and penalty levied are in dispute. Where penalty alone is in dispute, the pre-deposit shall be calculated on the penalty imposed. 1.2 The amended provisions apply to appeals filed after 6th August, 2014. Sections 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 contain specific saving clause to state that all pending appeals/stay applications filed till the enactment of the Finance Bill shall be governed by the erstwhile provisions. 1.3 Section 35FF of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 129EE of the Customs Act, 1962 have also been substituted to provide for payment of refund along with interest at the prescribed rate on the amount pre-deposited from the date of such payment till the date of refund. In exercise of the powers conferred under the new Section 35FF of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 129EE of the Customs Act, Notification Nos 24/2014-CE(NT) and 70/2014-Cus(NT), both dated 12.08.2014 have been issued specifying six percent as rate of interest on refunds made under those sections. 1.4 Various doubts / issues have been r a i s ed by t r ade bod i e s , i ndus t ry associations and field formations etc. on the implementation of the new provisions. With a view to implement the scheme smoothly, the following clarifications are issued. 2. Quantum of pre-deposit in terms of Section 35F of Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962:2.1 Doubts have been expressed with regard to the amount to be deposited in terms of the amended provisions while filing appeal against the order of Commissioner (Appeals) before the CESTAT. Sub-section (iii) of Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 stipulate payment of 10% of the duty or penalty payable in pursuance of the decision or order being appealed against i.e. the order of Commissioner (Appeal). It is, therefore, clarified that in the event o f a p p e a l a g a i n s t t h e o r d e r o f Commissioner (Appeal) before the Tribunal, 10% is to be paid on the amount of duty demanded or penalty imposed by the Commissioner (Appeal). This need not be the same as the amount of duty demanded or penalty imposed in the Order-in-Original in the said case. 2.2 In a case, where penalty alone is in dispute and penalties have been imposed under different provisions of the Act, the

pre-deposit would be calculated based on the aggregate of all penalties imposed in the order against which appeal is proposed to be filed. 2.3 In case of any short payment or non-payment of the amount stipulated under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962, the appeal filed is liable for rejection.3. Payment made during investigation: 3.1 Payment made during the course of investigation or audit, prior to the date on which appeal is filed, to the extent of 7.5% or 10%, subject to the limit of Rs 10 crores, can be considered to be deposit made towards fulfillment of stipulation under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962. Any shortfall from the amount stipulated under these sections shall have to be paid before filing of appeal before the appellate authority. As a corollary, amounts paid over and above the amounts stipulated under Section 35 F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962, shall not be treated as deposit under the said sections. 3.2 Since the amount paid during investigation/audit takes the colour of deposit under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 only when the appeal is filed, the date of filing of appeal shall be deemed to be the date of deposit made in terms of the said sections.

3.3 In case of any short-payment or

non-payment of the amount stipulated

under Section 35F of the Central Excise

Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the

Customs Act, 1962, the appeal filed by

the appellant is liable for rejection.

4. Recovery of the Amounts during the

Pendency of Appeal:

4.1 Vide Circular No.967/1/2013

dated 1st January, 2013, Board has issued

detailed instructions with regard to

recovery of the amounts due to the

Government during the pendency of stay

applications or appeals with the appellate

authority. This Circular would not apply

to cases where appeal is filed after the

enactment of the amended Section 35F of

the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section

129E of the Customs Act, 1962. 4.2 No coercive measures for the recovery of balance amount i.e., the amount in excess of 7.5% or 10% deposited in terms of Section 35F of Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of Customs Act, 1962, shall be taken during the pendency of appeal where the party / assessee shows to the jurisdictional authorities:

(i) proof of payment of stipulated amount

as pre-deposit of 7.5% / 10%, subject to a

limit of Rs.10 crores, as the case may be;

and

(ii) the copy of appeal memo filed with the

appellate authority. 4.3 Recovery action, if any, can be initiated only after the disposal of the case

by the Commissioner (Appeal) / Tribunal in favour of the Department. For example, if the Tribunal decides a case in favour of the Department, recovery action for the amount over and above the amount deposited under the provisions of Section 35F / 129E may be initiated unless the order of the Tribunal is stayed by the High Court/Supreme court. The recovery, in such cases, would include the interest, at the specified rate, from the date duty became payable, till the date of payment.5. Refund of pre-deposit: 5.1 Where the appeal is decided in favour of the party / assessee, he shall be entitled to refund of the amount deposited along with the interest at the prescribed rate from the date of making the deposit to the date of refund in terms of Section 35FF of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129EE of the Customs Act, 1962. 5.2 Pre-deposit for filing appeal is not payment of duty. Hence, refund of pre-deposit need not be subjected to the process of refund of duty under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962. Therefore, in all cases where the appellate authority has decided the matter in favour of the appellant, refund with interest should be paid to the appellant within 15 days of the receipt of the letter of the appellant seeking refund, irrespective of whether order of the appellate authority is proposed to be challenged by the Department or not. 5.3 If the Department contemplates appeal against the order of the Commissioner (A) or the order of CESTAT, which is in favour of the appellant, refund along with interest would still be payable unless such order is s tayed by a competen t Appel la te Authority. 5.4 In the event of a remand, refund of the pre-deposit shall be payable along with interest. 5.5 In case of partial remand where a portion of the duty is confirmed, it may be ensured that the duty due to the Government on the portion of order in favour of the revenue is collected by adjusting the deposited amount along with interest. 5.6. It is reiterated that refund of pre-deposit made should not be withheld on the ground that Department is proposing to file an appeal or has filed an appeal against the order granting relief to the party. Jurisdict ional Commissioner should ensure that refund of deposit made for hearing the appeal should be paid within the stipulated time of 15 days as per para 5.2 supra.6. Procedure and Manner of making the pre-deposits: 6.1 E-payment facility can be made use of by the appellants, wherever possible. 6.2 A self attested copy of the document showing satisfactory proof of payment shall be submitted before the appellate authority as proof of payment made in terms of Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962. 6.3 Column 7 of EA.1, column 6 of CA.1 and column 6 of ST.4 for filing appeal before Commissioner (Appeals), seek details of the duty/penalty deposited.

The same may be used for indicating the deposits made under amended Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962. 6.4 The appeal filed before the CESTAT are filed along with the appeal memo in prescribed format (Form EA-3 for Central Excise Appeals and Form CA-3 for the Customs Appeals). Column 14(i) of the said appeal forms seeks information of payment of duty, fine, penalty, interest along with proof of payment (challan). These columns may, therefore, be used for the purpose of indicating the amount of deposit made, which shall be verified by the appellate authority before registering the appeal. 6.5 As per existing instructions, a copy of the appeal memo along with proof of deposit made shall be filed with the jurisdictional officers.7. Procedure for refund: 7.1 A simple letter from the person who has made such deposit, requesting for return of the said amount, along with a self attested Xerox copy of the order in appeal or the CESTAT order consequent to which the deposit becomes returnable and attested Xerox copy of the document evidencing payment of such deposit, a d d r e s s e d t o J u r i s d i c t i o n a l Assis tant /Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax or the Assis tant /Deputy Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, would suffice for refund of the amount deposited along with interest at the rate specified. 7.2 Record of deposits made under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 should be maintained by the Commissionerate so as to facilitate seamless verification of the deposits at the time of processing the refund claims made in case of favourable order from the Appellate Authority.8. Amendment to Preamble of Orders: 8.1 In order to make the new provisions known to the assessee / trade every adjudicating authority lower in rank to the Commissioner is directed to incorporate the following sentence in the Preamble to the order being issued by them “An appeal against this order shall lie before the Commissioner (Appeal) on payment of 7.5% of the duty demanded where duty or duty and penalty are in dispute or penalty, are in dispute or penalty, where penalty alone is in dispute. ”

8.2 The following may be added in the

preamble of the orders issued by the

Commissioner (Appeals) “An appeal

against this order shall lie before the

Tribunal on payment of 10% of the duty

demanded where duty or duty and penalty

are in dispute, or penalty, where penalty

alone is in dispute”.

8.3 The following may be added in the

preamble of the orders issued by the

Commissioner as original adjudicating

authority “An appeal against this order

shall lie before the Tribunal on payment of

7.5% of the duty demanded where duty or

duty and penalty are in dispute, or penalty,

where penalty alone is in dispute”.

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September 20146

MONEY LAUNDERINGscheduled offences can only be investigated exclusively by the Enforcement Directorate is not justified and tenable at law.38. Mr. Raval submitted that the embargo from taking cognizance by the Special Court of any offence as provided in the second proviso of sub section (1) of section 45 is only with respect to an offence punishable under section 4. It is only in respect of an offence punishable under section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act that cognizance is barred to be taken by the Special Court except on a complaint in writing as provided in sub clause (1) and (2) thereof.39. He also submitted that this provision cannot be construed to mean that the Enforcement Directorate has the exclusive jurisdiction to investigate any of the scheduled offences.40. Mr. Raval contended that the contention of the appellant that merely because under section 44 of the PML Act, the Special Court constituted in the area in which the offence has been committed, has been authorized statutorily to try the scheduled offence and the offence punishable under section 4 is equally unsustainable in law since nothing in the said provision of section 44 of the said Act envisages the exclusive investigation of the scheduled offences by the Enforcement Directorate. Mr. Raval submitted that the trial of the scheduled offence is distinct and different from investigation under the PML Act.41. The above contention of the respondent is buttressed having regard to provisions contained in Section 43(2) which provides that while trying an offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (which means the offence of Money Laundering alone) the Special Court shall also try an offence other than referred to sub section (1) of section 43 with which the accused under the Code of Criminal Procedure be charged at the same trial.42. He contended that the scheme of the Act would, therefore, not construe the submission of the appellant that in case of there being an allegation of offence of money laundering, the scheduled offence also has to be exclusively investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. Such a contention is not supported by the provisions of the Act since there is no provision restricting the investigation of offence other than that of money laundering by any appropriate investigating agency.43. Mr. Raval submitted that the money alleged to have been so earned is of unprecedented amounts. It is further recorded that, however, there is no clear allegation so far about its laundering in the sense mentioned in the PML Act. It is further observed that there is an allegation of his investment in the property, shares etc. not only in India, but, also abroad. Having so observed it is recorded that therefore the basic investigation requires determining whether money has been acquired by abuse of official position amounting to an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act and under the Indian Penal Code and persons by whom the same has been done the amount of money which has been so earned and the places where it has been invested.44. According to the learned counsel for the respondents, the High Court in the impugned order has recorded cogent reasons for directing the investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Even this court while issuing notice vide order dated 01.09.2010 has directed the CBI to continue to investigate as directed by the High Court. Under the circumstances, the appellant is not entitled to any relief as contended.45. Mr. Raval informed the Court that the

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charge sheet in fact has been filed on 12.11.2010 before the Court of Competent Jurisdiction alleging inter alia commission of offence under section 120-B IPC, Section 9, Section 13 (2) read with section 13(1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against various accused including the appellant Shri Binod Kumar Sinha. It is further submitted that the investigation is still on and subsequent charge sheets may be filed as and when during investigation sufficient material surfaces on other aspects.46. In written submission it is categorically stated that the Central Bureau of Investigation is investigating into the commission of these offences alone and presently is not investigating any offence under the PML Act as the investigation under the PML Act is solely and exclusively within the jurisdiction and domain of the Enforcement Directorate, which is of course subject to the exercise of powers by the Central Government under Section 45 (1-A) of the said Act. 47. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length and perused the written submissions filed by them. On consideration of the totality of the facts and circumstances, we are clearly of the view that no interference is called for.Supreme Court of IndiaPareena Swarup vs Union Of India on 30 September, 2008WRIT PETITION NO.634 OF 2007It is necessary that the Court may draw a line which the executive may not cross in their misguided desire to take over bit by bit and judicial functions and powers of the State exercised by the duly constituted Courts. While creating new avenue of judicial forums, it is the duty of the Government to see that they are not in breach of basic constitutional scheme of separation of powers and independence of the judicial function. We agree with the apprehension of the petitioner that the provisions of Prevention of the Money Laundering Act are so provided that there may not be independent judiciary to decide the cases under the Act but the Members and the Chairperson to be selected by the Selection Committee headed by Revenue Secretary. It is to be noted that this Court in the case of L. Chandra Kumar vs. Union of India and Ors., (1997) 3 SCC 261 has laid down that power of judicial review over legislative action vested in the High Courts under Article 226 as well as in this Court under Article 32 of the Constitution is an integral and essential feature of the Constitution constituting part of the its structure. The Constitution guarantees free and independent judiciary and the constitutional scheme of separation of powers can be easily and seriously undermined, if the legislatures were to divest the regular courts of their jurisdiction in all matters, entrust the same to the newly created Tribunals which are not entitled to protection similar to the constitutional protection afforded to the regular Courts. Supreme Court of IndiaEssar Teleholdings Ltd. vs Regr.Gen.Delhi High Court & Ors. on 1 July, 2013WRIT PETITION (C) No. 59 OF 2012Both Section 4(3) of the PC Act and Section 43(2) of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act 2002 empower the Special Court to try any other offences that may be taken cognizance of under the Cr.P.C. In this view of events, the cognizance taken by the Special Court of the charge-sheet filed against the accused was valid. d) The Second Supplementary charge-sheet which makes out offences against the present accused arises out

of FIR No. RC DAI 2009 A 0045 registered by the CBI on 21.10.2009, out of which the earlier charge- sheets have been filed, and cognizance taken by the Special Court. PC Act clearly mandates that apart from an offence punishable under the PC Act, any conspiracy to commit or any attempt to commit or any abetment of any of the offences specified under the PC Act can also be tried by a Special Judge. Sub section (3) of Section 4 specifies that when trying any case, a Special Judge can also try any offence, other than an offence specified in Section 3, with which the accused may, under the Cr.P.C., be charged at the same trial. Sections 3 and 4 of the PCAct read as under:Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), a special Judge shall, as far as practicable, hold the trial of an offence on day-to-day basis.”. Section 22 of PC Act provides that provisions of the Cr.P.C., shall in their application to any proceeding in relation to an offence punishable under the Act to apply subject to certain modifications. It is, therefore, apparent that provisions of the Cr.P.C. are to be applied to trials for offence under the PC Act, subject to certain modifications. Section 220 of the Cr.P.C. relates to trial for more than one offence, if, in one series of acts so connected together as to form the same transaction more offence than one are committed and provides as follows: “220 - Trial for more than one offence-(1) If, in one series of acts so connected together as to form the same transaction, more offences than one are committed by the same person, he may be charged with, and tried at one trial for, every such offence. (2) When a person charged with one or more offences of criminal breach. Supreme Court of IndiaUnion Of India vs Hassan Ali Khan And Anr. on 30 September, 2011CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.1883 OF 2011(Arising out of SLP(Crl.) No.6114 OF 2011)Special Leave Petition out of which this Appeal arises has been filed against the judgment and final order dated 12th August, 2011, passed by the Bombay High Court in Crl. Bail Application No.994 of 2011, whereby the High Court granted bail to the Respondent No.1, Hassan Ali Khan, in connection with Special Case No.1 of 2011, wherein the Respondent No.1 is the Accused No.1. The allegation against the Respondent No.1 and the other accused is that they have committed an offence punishable under Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, hereinafter referred to as `the PML Act'. The said case has been registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the Deputy Director, Directorate of Enforcement, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Government of India, on 8th January, 2007, on the basis of Enforcement Case Information Report No.02/MZO/07 based on certain information and documents received from the Income Tax Department. On the said date, the Income Tax Department carried out a search in the premises owned and/or possessed by the Respondent No.1 and a sum of Rs.88,05,000/- in cash laundering. In this connection, the learned ASG referred to Section 2(u) of the PML Act, which describes proceeds of crime to mean any property derived or obtained, directly or indirectly by any person as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence or the value of any such property. He, thereafter, referred to the definition of scheduled offence; in Section 2(y) of the above Act to mean (i) the offences specified

under Part A of the Schedule; or (ii) the offences specified under Part B of the Schedule if the total value involved in such offences amounted to Rs.30 lakhs or more. The learned ASG submitted that the enormous sums of money held by Shri Hassan Ali Khan in foreign accounts in Switzerland, United Kingdom and Indonesia and the transactions in respect thereof, prima facie indicated the involvement of the Respondent No.1 in dealing with proceeds of crime and projecting the same as untainted property, which was sufficient to attract the provisions of Section 3 of the PML Act, 2002. The learned ASG submitted that under Section 24 of the aforesaid Act various accounts were the proceeds of crime, the burden of proving that the money involved was neither the proceeds of crime nor untainted, shifted to him and it was upto him to prove the contrary. The learned ASG submitted that Shri Hassan Ali Khan had failed to discharge the said burden and hence the large sums of money in the several accounts of the Respondent No.1 would have to be treated as tainted property, until proved otherwise. The learned ASG submitted that the Respondent No.1 had himself made certain statements which were recorded under Section 50 of the PML Act, parts whereof were not hit by the provisions of Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act. The learned ASG also referred to the provisions of Section 45 of the aforesaid Act which make offences under the said Act cognizable and non- bailable and also provides that notwithstanding the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, no person accused of an offence punishable for a term of imprisonment of more than three years under Part A of the Schedule to the Act, is to be released on bail or on his own bond, unless the Public Prosecutor offence while on bail. The learned ASG submitted that an exception had been made for persons under the age of 16 years or a woman or a person who is sick or infirm. 14. Referring to Part A of the Schedule to the PML Act, the learned ASG submitted that the same had been divided into paragraphs 1 and 2. While paragraph 1 deals with offences under the Indian Penal Code under Sections 121 and 121-A thereof, paragraph 2 deals with offences under the Narcotic Drugs &amp; Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The learned ASG submitted that, on the other hand, Para B is divided into five paragraphs. Paragraph 1 deals with offences under the Indian Penal Code, while paragraph 2 deals with offences under the Arms Act, 1959. Paragraph 3 deals with offences 15 under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, paragraph 4 deals with offences under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, and paragraph 5 deals with offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Supreme Court of IndiaC.B.I vs V.Vijay Sai Reddy on 9 May, 2013CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 729 OF 2013(Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 5946 of 2012Section 13(1)(c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (in short “the PC Act”) against ... money so paid is nothing but corrupt money attracting Section 3 of the Prevention of Money LaunderingOn the orders of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in Writ Petition Nos. 794, 6604 and 6979 of 2011 dated 10.08.2011, the CBI, Hyderabad, on 17.08.2011, registered a case being R.C. No. 19(A)/2011-CBI-Hyderabad dated 17.05.2011 under Sections 120-B read with Sections 409, 420 and 477-A of the

Continued on page 8

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September 20147

Continued from page 01

Black MoneyIndian Scene.

hoarding of money in future and then siphon it off to tax havens. The government seems to be moving in the opposite direction! There are two glaring examples, which if tackled would be a game changer. Take the case of P-Notes. This is best dubbed as “Plunder Notes”. It's a notorious scheme which permits all and sundry to bring in dollars and invest in equities and other such financial instruments and take away the profits. Ostensibly this has been devised to facilitate more inflow of FII (Foreign Institutional Investments). No KYC norms are followed. Nobody in India knows whose money is coming and where from. Can anything be more bizarre than this scheme? This scheme is clearly in violation of all prudent financial norms. Thus, we have a unique scheme unknown to the rest of the world! Investment through P-Notes is simple and hence very popular. According to information available, about 40 billion USD is on this account with the Foreign Institutional Investors. So, it is safe to presume that this much black money is making inroads into the Indian equity and bonds market. Some may claim that there are some similar schemes operating in Europe. So, what is the harm if we do it? It's no use copying a wrong scheme. What is Luxembourg to European Union is Mauritius to India! Some details are as below. SICAV and SICAF are two schemes which are common in Western Europe. SICAV is the acronym for “Investment Company with variable Capital”. The former is a open ended and the latter is a close ended scheme. There is yet another investment option in the form of UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securit ies Directives). Based in Luxembourg, UCITS is reportedly managing over 5 trillion Euros in assets. UCITS was established in1985 and a popular destination for investment bankers. All these schemes offer a convenient platform for investment. What is the level of transparency? Your guess is as good as mine! One thing is for sure. We seem to have copied these schemes as basis for our notorious P-Notes! It's not worth copying at all. We keep getting reports in news that so much foreign investment has flown in. But do we know from where and by whom these investments were made. No is the answer. There is no transparency. On the other hand there is a thick veil of secrecy. Whom are we trying to impress with such statistics? We are misleading the public and deceiving ourselves. The tragedy of the scheme is the fraudster gets double benefit! He has not only a legitimate route to bring black money back but also invest and reap the benefit out of it! To say that the government gets the benefit of more dollar inflow is a travesty of truth. It's the black money holder who is benefitted and permitted to multiply his illicit wealth. Will someone come forward to abolish this monstrous and foolhardy scheme? Commodity Futures scheme.Second equally biggest fraud played on the public is about the commodity futures trading. This practice originated in the USA in1970 to help farmers and big buyers (read actual users). Commodity futures contract is a commitment to buy a commodity like corn or wheat at a later

date at a given (or pre-set) price. Big companies buy futures to guard against any sharp price swings. In other words, it is to give protection to farmers and traders or actual users. Unfortunately in course of time this has become a speculator's paradise. Even schemes with the best of intentions can become a tool in the hands of manipulators. Non-playing actors like small and big investors in equity and bond market have entered the futures market. This has the effect of gambling and prices move up and down with scant regard to seller- buyer intentions. Thus, the original intention of giving protection to farmers/actual-users is given a twist. Even in developed countries there is a strong opposition to futures trading. Both in USA and UK tighter controls are envisaged. Parliamentarians in US and UK have expressed dissenting opinions about futures trading and some of them want this to be scrapped. This trading activity had adverse impact on economy and fraught with fraud, manipulation of prices even in the case of essential commodities like corn, wheat and crude oil. If this is the plight of commodity futures trading in countries where it originated, what to talk of India? We are least prepared. Farmers in India don't know much about futures market and the manipulative skills of city-bred investors and traders. We have seen year after year how hoarders and middlemen play foul in agricultural products of daily need like onion! We have to travel a long way to bring relief to farmers through futures trading. As of now what is happening is that the futures trading facility is made use of by unscrupulous speculators and that too with abundant black money. Speculation in futures contract is not advisable. But, that's what is precisely happening. We have the knack of aping the West in many fields. But this is going beyond our needs and therefore deserves to be curbed. It's high time that the government of the day review the whole thing and shuts down the commodity futures trading. Will they do it? Commodity Futures Trading in India is of recent origin. India is a nascent entrant to this activity. India started the National Commodity Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) in May 2003 and trading started after preliminary arrangements from Dec 2003. Trading is allowed in 31 commodities. See, we have become notorious in less than 10 years! A big scam involving Financial Technologies India Limited (FTIL) has come to surface about a settlement crisis of about Rs.5575 crores! The market regulator, Forward Markets Commission, in a strongly worded order in Dec 2013, has indicted FTIL. The chairman and two directors of FTIL have been held not fit for holding any position in any exchange. The fraud involved settlement crisis to the tune of 5575 crores of rupees to more than 13,000 sellers/investors in the trading platform of NSEL (National Spot Exchange Limited). One doesn't know whether this is a proverbial tip of the ice berg! This only confirms the fear that allowing Commodity Futures in India is rather premature and fraught with dangers. The NSEL scam was waiting to happen. What was started with a lofty ideal of helping producers (farmers) and bulk buyers turned into a happy hunting ground for ordinary investors to make

quick money. The farmers' interests are given a short shrift. (See Frontline dated

th10 Jan 2014). Government has been totally callous in handling this issue and allowing it to snowball into a scandal. Do you need a better reason to clamp down this mock exchange? Don't forget that after Harshad Mehta's scandal, the stock exchanges haven't become anymore sanctimonious. They continue to be a source of concern. Some past measures to unearth black money. Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (1997) was an initiative taken by Indian government to bring into account undisclosed wealth. The scheme was operational for six months (Jul-Dec 1997). All Indian citizens who had not disclosed properly their income and wealth were urged to come forward, declare, pay the tax and avail immunity from prosecution. There were some who opposed the VDIS. Why should tax-evaders be given protection, was their major argument. The VDIS-97 met with some success, as claimed by the government. About 350,000 people availed the opportunity to declare their true income and paid about 7800 crores of rupees as income tax. This amount of tax was almost 20% of the total tax collection in previous year. It was claimed that about 33,000 crores turned white. Similarly, when R.Venkataraman was Finance Minister, the government came with what was known as Bearer Bond scheme (1981). People were encouraged to buy the bonds. No questions were asked about the source of income. Immunity from prosecution was given. That scheme mopped about 900 crores of rupees in less than six months. It enabled the government to mop up some black money in those days. But now the quantum of black money in economy has gone up by leaps and bounds and calls for quick and effective methods to unearth such money. It's worth noting that in the second half of 2013 the Finance Ministry came out with an amnesty scheme to rope in more people in the Service Tax net. The amnesty scheme was kept open for six months. Government mopped about 7000 crores of rupees and many more new assesses in the Service Tax net. It's true that government got so much tax money. But, compared to the illicit wealth stashed away in tax havens, this is a pittance. All the same a laudable effort. Public PerceptionThere is some vague demand in India that the government should come out with a new VDIS to flush out black money. More than that there is a demand from some quarters about an amnesty scheme to bring back money lying in off-shore tax havens. Are we ready? While there is a need to think about VDIS-2, there is an urgent requirement to bring back the money lying in off-shore tax havens. It's not something new that we'll be trying out. Governments of US, UK, France, and Germany had announced such amnesty schemes and benefitted by bringing back their money from tax havens. These countries are focused and want to demonstrate that tax dodgers have to come out clean or face consequences. In India, the government is not focused; we are self deceptive in our approach. We don't have the gumption to call spade a spade. If the government is

serious about bringing back unaccounted money lying in tax havens, it should announce result oriented schemes and convince people that tax dodgers will not be allowed to roam around with impunity. The irony is that the government and the bureaucracy are manifestly and hopelessly ambivalent. Otherwise, how do you justify its activities in tracking the Bofors kickback money? According to one source, to track 64 crores, government spent about 250 crores of rupees and that too without any conclusive result! That should give an idea as to how much the Indian government is serious about tracking graft money. Similarly, take the case of Hassan Ali Khan who allegedly deposited 8 billion USD in UBS, Switzerland. He hadn't filed IT returns since in 1999, and his known source of income was very less. It was stated in the parliament that Hassan Ali topped the list of tax defaulters with arrears running to more than Rs.50, 000 crores. Final word is yet to come on his case. This is the way Indian government is engaged in realizing even known tax evasion cases. It's not only tardy but positively callous and disgusting. Conclusion Thus, it is by now well known that black money generation and concealment is prevalent in many countries. At the same time, there are some countries which give shelter to such money and individuals and corporate bodies. All in the name of banking secrecy laws. The world has changed after the deep depression in 2008. Every country is keen to get back their legitimate wealth stashed away in off shore tax havens. Countries like USA, UK, Germany, and France are taking tough measures to fight this menace. USA is proving to be successful, while others are partly successful in their efforts. They are persistent in their action to curb this fraud on their economy. A disturbing trend in India is the government is lackadaisical. There is no sense of urgency. Actions taken so far would indicate half hearted attempts to address the issue squarely and purposefully. This is indeed disappointing. This trend should be reversed. The government should come forward to take tough measures to get back the wealth of the nation lying elsewhere. If there is a will, there is a way. This is not difficult to achieve. The measures taken so far do not evoke confidence. At some point of time it would appear as if a shadow boxing is going on between India and Switzerland! There is no harm in copying USA in this regard.” Be good, be tough”. Will the mandarins in power do some good to uplift the confidence? Act Now The government must think in terms of an Off-Shore VDS giving amnesty against prosecution. There will be some who cry foul but that should be ignored in the larger interest. USA has done it with success. There is no point in booking petty bribery cases of a few hundred rupees and turning a blind eye to hundreds and thousands of crores! Enforcement agencies must be given freedom to go after big fish. This war on black money and off-shore money should go on relentlessly. Views are personal

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September 20148

Goa Customs, Museum- The untold story:Destiny sometimes takes you to far off places, just to bring you back in your own,to throw up some idea which infuture is to be worked further. While working in Ministry of Textiles in the year 2000, I was deputed for a course in the Department of laws, University of Queensland, Brisbane in Australia. One of the campuses of the law college was incidentally housed on the banks of the River Brisbane in Brisbane City. The address of the campus was Old Custom House, Brisbane. Part of the building used to hold law classes for the LL.M. Course, for which I was a student. Remaining portion was a Custom Museum with beautiful artifacts and pieces of Customs History displayed and preserved in it. It was, but natural for me to get attracted towards them, even if it meant skipping classes. The effort of the Australian Customs sure won its deserving appreciation from me. Back in Delhi, after almost two years, I received my posting orders for transfers to Panjim, Goa. Being without family I was staying at the Guest House just opposite the Blue Building. The striking similarity between the Blue Building and the Old Custom House on the banks of the River Brisbane could not have been lost sight of, by me. There it was River Brisbane, here it was River Mandovi. Perhaps, reminding us of the times when small ships/boats, three or four centuries back could enter the river waters close to the sea facilitating setting up of the Custom House with in the City, instead of big

Continued from page 1

ports which are now required. Incidentally, it was also the time that ICE (Indian Custom & Excise) Building was coming up at Patto Plaza in Panjim. Blue Building was already a heritage structure being more than 400 years old. One of the points of discussion, therefore, was as to what will be the fate of Blue Building once the office shifted to the new building. The Church in the Blue Building and its old structure had a special fascination for every Custom and Excise officer. The fear was that like the house of last Portuguese Customs Commissioner, which was taken over by the State Authorities. And which thereafter, became the Chief Minister 's Residence, the same way, Indian Customs may not be deprived of the Blue Building. In the end of 2002 the day of reckoning came and office shifted to new complex with just a token presence of Commissioner kept and his office maintained for name sake, in Blue Building. In the summer of 2003, when Blue Building was almost vacant, I received a phone call from R. K. Tiwari who was the then Chief Commissioner in Pune and under w h o s e c h a r g e t h e G o a Commissionerate came, to attend personally to Mrs. and Mr. Subrata Basu, who were coming for holiday in Goa and were also his batch mates. Subrata Basu, was known to be a man of varied interests and had a vision of creativity. He had already acquired his claim to fame, by creating Rock Garden in Hyderabad

and doing landscaping of many Customs and Excise structures. While accompanying him on his tours, I often found that he will stop the car somewhere and see and discuss some strange non existing objects with his wife, may be in the branching of trees or in broken objects, that were hardly visible to a non-creative person like me. So, during his two days of visit, we faced many stoppages of the car and had to really appreciate different kind of animals, birds and objects, which were visible to the couple, but invisible to me, though my nods of assent were artificially coming. Third day, I promised to show them the Chapel in the Customs House, Goa after retrieving the keys. Finally, the old Custom House, Blue Building was got opened for them and in their own imitable style, I asked them if they could see a Custom Museum inside the Blue Building which was visible to me and in which the artifacts of unique Indian Customs which it inherited from Imperial Customs, Dutch Customs, French Customs and Portuguese Customs are placed. Mr. Basu looked at my face but after a while laughed, after he got my point. He promised me that on his return to his Chief Commissionerate, he will take up the matter with Board and R. K. Tiwari and I shall soon hear about the progress of the Museum. I knew that Subrata Basu was a man of words and will initiate the process. It was a matter of few days after his departure as the last Joint

Commissioner of the Blue Building, I got a communication that it was contemplated to House Indian Customs Museum in Blue Building. I had known that Lillian Fernandes, then Superintendent, had a special interest in Blue Building and its history and also in the History of Portuguese Customs. Therefore, in my first file note on the subject, I appointed her as the custodian of all objects for the museum which were directed to be sent from all corners of India, by the higher authorities. Soon thereafter, I got transferred but with satisfaction that of passing on the baton to senior officers, who were competent enough to one day make reality of the concept, which finally they did after I left the service in 2008. Destiny had a role to play in the events as they shaped up and for me the idea that came from a distant land became a concept and there after emerged as a reality when in the year 2010, Mrs. Fernandes took me for a trip around the Museum. Which I can legitimately claim to have got the first vision to see, even prior to visionary Subrata Basu. Blue Building was saved from acquisition by State authorities to house the first ever Custom Museum in South East Asia and the idea enthused Income Tax Department also to start its Museum. The Goa State Authorities have now decided that even old Adil Shah Palace, housing their earlier Secretariat, which is building adjoining Blue Building, will be converted in to a State Museum. Thanks Brisbane Customs.

rate does not determine excisability.This means that in order to be excisable, the goods should be (i) manufactured, (ii) marketable (iii) appearing in the tariff and (iv)subject to duty of excise. All the conditions must be satisfied. Regarding (i) (ii) and (iii) there is no controversy here. Regarding (iv) that is, subject to duty of excise, the controversy is that the Tribunal judgement says that since there is no rate of duty (that is the rate of duty is Nil), they are not excisable. This is where I disagree. Even if the goods attract nil rate of duty they can still be excisable provided the other conditions (i), (ii) and (iii) are satisfied. Now regarding condition (iv), that is, subject to duty of excise, the question is nil duty is a rate of duty or not. It is clear that the Tribunal judgement has thought it fit to hold that nil duty is not a rate of duty. That is not correct. Nil duty is also a rate of duty as has been held in the following judgements:1. T N Handloom Weavers v. ACCE [1978(2) E.L.T.(J 57) (Mad.)]

2. Karnataka Cement Pipe Factory v. Supcenex [1986 (23)ELT313 (Kar.)]

3. Wa l l a c e F l o u r M i l l s 1989(44)ELT598(SC)

4. CCE, Hyderabad vs. Vazir S u l t a n T o b a c c o C o . - 1996(83)E.L.T.3(S.C.)“The Supreme Court in this case has held that though by virtue of an exemption notification, the rate of duty was nil, this does not mean that they were not excisable goods. They were excisable goods. Nil rate of duty is also a rate of duty”

Excisability still not understood properly by the high andthe mighty

5. Associated Cement Co Ltd vs Commissioner of Customs 92001)

6. Collector of central excise Vadodara vs Dhiren chemical industries (2002)

There is another very important consideration namely that in the tariff we find that the rate of duty is nil in many cases which are actually manufactured, marketable and excisable. Examples, 27160000 electrical energy,09011200 decaffeinated coffee, 19051000 Crispbred, 19052000 Gingerbread, 19054000 Rusks, toasted bread and similar toasted products, 19059030 Extruded or expanded products, savoury or salted, 19059040 Papad, 19059090 other, 53071090 Yarn of jute or of other textile bast fibres of heading 5303. There is also no way to legally distinguish between where the tariff rate is nil and where the exempted rate is nil. Conclusion : Goods are excisable even if the rate of duty is nil. There is no confusion, if understood properly as I have indicated above. The confusion has been created when we harmonized the Excise Tariff blindly with the Customs Tariff. In Customs Tariff everything is chargeable to duty whether manufactured or not. But it is not so in the Excise Tariff .So the un-manufactured items should have been left out from the Excise Tariff. But by doing a harmonization en masse what has happened is that there are incongruities. If we take customs and excise tariffs together, then the rates of duty are variously written as nil, blank and free. In effect all of them mean Nil. Some are excisable and some are non-excisable. Animals like cats and dogs are in the excise tariff. They should have been omitted. This is a fit case for the Administrative Reforms Commission to require the CBEC to form a task force to resolve this confusion.

Continued from page 1MONEY

LAUNDERINGContinued from page 6

Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short 'IPC') and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (in short “the PC Act”) against Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy (A-1), Member of Parliament and 73 others.Further, as a quid pro quo to these investments, the benefits were received by v a r i o u s i n v e s t o r s i n c l u d i n g t h e companies/individuals from the decisions of the State Government in allotment of lands for Special Economic Zones (SEZs), contracts f o r i r r i g a t i o n p r o j e c t s , s p e c i a l relaxations/permissions for real estate ventures, mines etc. It is further revealed that Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy (A-1) laundered the bribe money by routing it through various individuals and companies and getting investments made by them in his companies at a high premium. (e) After investigation, on 31.03.2012, the CBI filed first charge sheet against A-1 to A-13 including the respondent herein under Section 120-B read with Sections 409, 420 and 477-A of the IPC and Sections 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(c) and (d) of the PC Act in the Court of Special Judge for CBI Cases, Hyderabad. On 02.04.2012, A-2 filed another application for grant of bail before the Special Judge. By order dated 13.04.2012, the Special Judge granted bail to A-2.

“ Prima facie, it emerges from the record forming part of the writ petitions including pleadings of the parties that from May, 2004 onwards, respondent No. 52 floated number of companies wherein quid pro quo investments have been made out of the b e n e f i t s r e c e i v e d b y t h e investors/beneficiaries from the decisions of the State Government in various forms like S E Z s , i r r i g a t i o n c o n t r a c t s , relaxation/permission for real estate ventures, mines etc. besides payment of huge premium amounts paid in the shares and invested in the companies by such beneficiaries and the money so paid is nothing but corrupt money attracting Section 3 of the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act, 2002. The investigation by the Income Tax authorities with respect to assessment orders of M/s Jagathi Publications for the year 2008-09 shows huge unexplained cash credit. Similarly, huge escalated face value of shares to the extent of 35 times also was not accepted by the Income Tax authorities and respondent No. 52 is directly or indirectly connected with some of the companies which are showing phenomenal growth and these facts make it necessary to ascertain the role of individuals/firms/public servants in the group companies of respondent.

To be Continued ...

1 Amaravathi Co-operatives Sugar Mills vs. CCE, Coimbatore - 2013(291)ELT126(Tri-Chennai)

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September 20149

“Does size matter…!!”reasons. When the glamour is out it is the

quality only survives. At least in this country

quality and knowledge does not depend on the

post one held. Randomly it can be seen that

much more qualified and knowledgeable

persons with higher sense of proposition and

nationalistic views may spent their lives at the

bottom of the ladder so far rank is concerned. The days of pointing fingers towards the

lower level persons for whatever fault has

taken place is still not over. But undoubtedly

there is a steady and sharp change in

perception that it is only the lower level

persons are at fault and the upper ones are

washed with "Ganga water." It is gradually

gaining momentum rather, there is a quantum

jump in perception that “higher the power,

higher is the scope of misuse and so is its

fallout." It can easily be summarized that

honesty, integrity, nationalistic approach and

knowledge are no more dependent on the fact

how big one is in the rank. The patriotism and

honesty & integrity were found in the lower 1

/ 3Does Size Matter people even in the epic

ages. It is only in the modern age a myth tried

to have been created that “lower the level

higher is the uselessness and so is other evils."

That is why the society relishes even to-day

the slogan “Abolish inspector Raj.” It is no

denial that excesses might have been done by

some of them. But independently and without

direct or tacit support were they in a position

to-do excess? Certainly not. In the changing

scenario, the Power Centre has shifted in other

direction. It is sure that there will be not much

of disagreement to the statement that "good or

evils vary from person to person and level or

size difference is quite immaterial." There

may not be much of difference, at times,

between any two persons of higher and lower

level, so far I. Q. and other related aspects are

concerned. The basic difference, which one

cannot, disagrees in most of the cases it is the

luck and opportunity factor. The other

differences are because of powers and mental

strengths out of above factors. There is not

Continued from page 1

much of difference between the winner and

the looser. Yes, it is the winner who is always

saluted and remembered. How, many of us are

aware that in the Constituent Assembly during

the course of drafting our constitution, on the

point what would be national language “Hindi

" or " Bengali " when put to vote. " Bengali

“lost by a narrow margin and is out from the

periphery. Therefore, " Jo Jita Woh Sikander. "

But wicked people some time raise the sticky

question " What about those who got their

success through RANDON (Ranjit Don)

EFFECT. There is no proof so we should not

lend our ears to such wicked questions. It is

better to leave it to the conscious of those

skilled persons, if any, who traveled through

that route. I have personally experienced, and had a

very first hand idea of a myth that has been

persisting very strongly, even in the mind of a

most respected person of the department to

which I once belonged. He is slim, one of the

most honest and learned person who

commanded respect from all quarters because

of his simplicity and boldness and other

unparalleled qualities. The perception,

perhaps, he carried right from his childhood

till the time he was holding very high post that

“who are fatty can not be intelligent " and "

those who are thin or slim should be

intelligent " The same way another perception

appeared to be carried by him was that if

anybody specifically lower level officers are

wearing good clothes rather smartly dressed

might be indulging in corrupt practices.

Taking advantage of this notion, one clever

enough officer under his charge used to attend

office putting a chappal, with unshaved face

pretending to be poor enough. By exploiting

this tactic, earned enough sympathy ( as many

others did,) which he tried to capitalize in his

favour. But bunches of complaint of his mis-

deeds also started pouring in. Resultant effect

could not be ascertained. It is better to guess.

Once to my utter surprise I discovered from

the said noble officer's version few months

before his superannuation referring to a fatty

lower level officer that " I never thought he

could be, in one hand so fatty but so

intelligent! " What is the relation between

being fatty and intelligent! I failed to

understand and looked at him with puzzled

face but could not ask him whether the same

view he was holding about me also! Has it

been changed? I did not dare to ask. It is not

because of lack of courage, but because of the

fact I respected him most and never wanted to

be frustrated. Another statement regarding size by

another officer (with completely opposite

stature & nature) haunts me off and on. “I have

seen him to grow." This statement is not out of

any love andaffection but mostly out of anger

and may, be out of hatred. Is it not a simple

jealousy? It is not to be forgotten that a person

in the level below does not necessarily cannot

have a decent family back ground, a well

qualified wife (having a much strong

standing) and brilliant children who are 2 /

3Does Size Matter even capable of bringing

name and fame not for the family but for the

country even. Only on superannuation when

lost in the unknown ocean, one can realise

these things. No hurry. One should wait and

waiting for a good thing can always be

cherished.I being a fatty (but would like to be

termed as stout) person, taken all the jokes

with a pinch of salt having no alternative and

pretended to have enjoyed the same. But it

would be totally wrong on my part if it is not

mentioned that I came across persons of

higher strata completely opposite to what has

been stated above. Even being at the top most

level, never had shown any such notions. In

fact my perception has been that I was always

rated much above the level which, I belong to,

and such great personalities came forward for

support whenever I needed it. One can analyse charectertics of a fat

person looking at our epic of Mahabhartha

also. A few years down the lane, during visit to

Calcutta (it was so during the time), we went

to enjoy a single act drama 'Draupadi' by

Padmashree Awardee Shaoli Mitra. It touched

me, while she was performing the scene of

'Mahaprayana' when all the Pandava brothers

and Draupadi proceeded to heaven. Narrating

the scene, she said, the first one to fell in the

wayside was draupadi, but nobody bothered

to look at her, not even Arjun who she loved

the most. It was only the 'Bhim' who crawled

down to Draupadi and quipped, “Panchali, are

in pains ?”. The example, I believe, explains

everything, how much size matters. In any case to be a taller or shorter, slim or

fatty, generally does not depend on one's own

desire, attitude or efforts. Rather, as we all

know, even two personalities of same size

may have completely opposite attitude and

qualities. The best example is that of our most

beloved Late Prime Minister Sh. Lalbahdur

Shastri who had completely opposite qualities

than Adlof Hilter, of almost same height.

However, it is clear now; mostly the Genes

contribute the same. Worldwide research is

going on; efforts are being made to cure

patients taking help of gene replacement

process. It gives me immense pleasure and I

relish my daughter's association with a high

level research in a pioneer country (to be

precise under Harward Medical Shcool) in

the field concerning Genes. I wish the day

should not be far-off when one can come to

proper size, may be with the help of gene-

therapy. Then the question of ' Does Size

Matter?" would loose its relevance. But till

such time I would like to remind my slimmer

friends (Oxford Meaning of friend whoever

is not enemy) the last statement of Julius

Ceaser. " Brutus you too! " followed by " Let

the fats be around". We all know the treachery

of Brutus, his closest associate. When

attacked Julius Ceaser realised that only the

fatty persons did not betray. This realisation

was too late. One can take a lesson, if so

desire.

Delegation of powers of CBEC under rule

3 of Central Excise Rules, 2002

NOTIFICATION No. 29 /2014-CENTRAL EXCISE (N.T.)G.S.R (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by section 37A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), the Central Government hereby delegates the powers of the Central Board of Exciseand Customs under rule 3 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, to the Principal Chief Commissioner of Central Excise or the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, to specify within his

jur isdic t ion, the jur isdic t ion of a Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) or a Commissioner of Central Excise (Audit) and the jurisdiction of such Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) or Commissioner of Central Excise (Audit) shall be limited to the jurisdiction so specified.2. This notification shall come into force on 15th October, 2014.[F.No.96 /42 /2014-CX.1](Pankaj Jain)

NOTIFICATIONNo. 21/2014-SERVICE TAX

Delegation of powers of CBEC under rule 3 of

Service Tax Rules, 1994

G.S.R (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by section 37A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), read with section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994), the Central Government hereby delegates the powers of the Central Board of Excise and Customs under rule 3 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994, to the Principal Chief Commissioner of Central Excise or the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise or the Chief Commissioner of Service Tax, as the case may be, to specify within his jurisdiction, the jurisdiction of a Commissioner of Service Tax (Appeals) or a Commissioner of Central

Excise (Appeals) or a Commissioner of Service Tax (Audit) or a Commissioner of Central Excise (Audit) and the jurisdiction of such Commissioner of Service Tax (Appeals) or Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) or Commissioner of Service Tax (Audit) or Commissioner of Central Excise (Audit) shall be limited to the jurisdiction so specified.2. This notification shall come into force on

th15 October, 2014.

(Himani Bhayana)Under Secretary to the Government of India

[F.No.137/29/2014 Service Tax]

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September 201410

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September 201411

NotificationNo. 84/ 2014 -Customs (N.T.)

G.S.R.--(E). - In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 4, read with sub-section (1) of section 5 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Central Board of Excise and Customs hereby appoints the following officers specified in column (2) of the Table below as the officers of Customs of the rank specified in the column (3) of the

said Table, for the purpose of conducting audit under the On-site Post Clearance Audit at the Premises of Importers and Exporters Regulations, 2011, having jurisdiction over the area specified in the notification issued under rule 3 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 or rule 3 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994, namely:-

TABLE

th2. This notification shall come into force with effect from 15 October, 2014(R.P.Singh) Director to the Government of India [F.No 437/48/2014-Cus IV (Pt.)]

NotificationNo. 81/ 2014 -Customs (N.T.)

G.S.R.--(E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 4, read with sub- section (1) of section 5 of the Customs Act,1962 (52 of 1962) and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, No.

th36/2009-CUSTOMS (N.T.), dated the 17 March ,2009, published vide number G.S.R.

th172(E), dated the 17 March, 2009, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Board of Excise and Customs hereby appoints the following officers specified in column (2) of the Table below as the officers of Customs having jurisdiction over the area mentioned in column (4) and of the rank specified in the corresponding entry in column (3) of the said Table, namely:-

TABLE

th2. This notification shall come into force with effect from 15 October, 2014.

(R.P.Singh) Director to the Government of India [F.No 437/48/2014-Cus IV (Pt.)]

It's not a fair deal for women in Bollywood’

In the first-ever study on how women are shown in popular films in the world's top 11 movie markets, India comes off poorly 34% of women characters in India's top grossers were shown wearing sexually revealing clothes against a global average of 25%, while 35% were depicted in partially nude scenes against a global average of 24%. Only about a quarter of all speaking characters in Indian films were women as opposed to a global average of 31%. The study analyzed 120 popular films released between 2010 and 2013 across the most profitable territories internationally including Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, United States, United Kingdom, as well as UK-US collaborations. The study, released recently, was conducted by Stacy L Smith and her colleagues at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, UN Women and The Rockefeller Foundation. "Females bring more to society than just their appearance," said Smith, the principal investigator. "These results illuminate that globally, we have more than a film problem when it comes to valuing girls and women. We have a human problem." Globally, it found that just one third of all speaking characters in films are female and less than a quarter (22.5%) of the on-screen workforce were females. When the characters are employed, females are largely absent from powerful positions. Women represent less than 15% of business executives, political figures, or science, technology, engineering, and/or math (STEM) employees. Of the samples chosen,

India did not have a single film with a female lead or co-lead role or a gender balanced cast. "The fact is - women are seriously under-represented across nearly all sectors of society around the globe, not just on-screen, but for the most part we're simply not aware of the extent. And media images exert a powerful influence in creating and perpetuating our unconscious biases", said Geena Davis, Academy Award winning actress and chair of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, according to a statement by UN Women. "How do we encourage a lot more girls to pursue science, technology and engineering careers? By casting droves of women in STEM, politics, law and other professions today in movies", she added.The study showed that very few films show women in professional posts. Male characters outnumber female characters as attorneys and judges (13 to 1), professors (16 to 1), and doctors (5 to 1). In contrast, the ratios tipped in favour of females when it came to hypersexualization. Girls and women were over twice as likely as boys and men to be shown in sexualized attire, with some nudity, or thin. Across the films assessed, women comprised nearly one in four filmmakers behind the camera (directors, writers, producers). Out of a total of 1,452 filmmakers with an identifiable gender, 20.5% were female and 79.5% were male. Females comprised 7% of directors, 19.7% of writers, and 22.7% of producers across the sample. Films with a female director or female writer attached had significantly more girls and women on screen than did those without a female director or writer.Source: Times of India

Seeks to amend notification No.12/2012-Cus dated 17.3.2012

Notification No. 28/2014-CustomsG.S.R. (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 12/2012-Customs, dated the 17th March, 2012, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 185(E), dated the 17th March, 2012, namely:- In the said notification,- (i) in the Table, against serial number 282, in column (3), in item (y), for the figures “500”, the figures “1000” shall be substituted;

(ii) after the Table, in the proviso, in clause (bc), for the words and figures “first day of January,2015”, the figures, letters and words “1st day of April, 2015” shall be substituted.

[F.No. 354/141/2012-TRU](Pramod Kumar)Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note: The principal notification No. 12/2012-Customs, dated the 17th March, 2012, was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 185(E), dated the 17th March, 2012 and last amended vide notification No. 26/2014-Customs, dated the 21stAugust, 2014, published vide number G.S.R. 603 (E), dated the 21st August, 2014

Order No. 1/2014-SERVICE TAX

F.No.137/29/2014-SERVICE TAXIn exercise of the powers conferred by rule 3 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994, the Central Board of Excise & Customs hereby rescinds Order No. 3/3/94-Service Tax Rule (3), dated

ththe 11 October, 1994, No. 4/1/95-Service thTax, dated the 25 July, 1995, No. 5/1/1996-

stService Tax, dated the 31 October, 1996, No. th5/1/97-Service Tax, dated the 25 July, 1997,

thNo. 7/1/97-Service Tax, dated the 5 November, 1997, No. 1/1/98-Service Tax,

thdated the 7 October, 1998, No. 3/1/2004-

stService Tax Rule (3), dated the 1 March, 2004, No. 4/2/2004-Service Tax, dated the

th18 May, 2004, No. 1/1/2010-Service Tax, thdated the 10 February, 2010 and all other

orders relating to the appointment of officers and their jurisdiction issued under rule 3 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994.

th2. This order shall come into force on 15 October, 2014.

(Himani Bhayana)Under Secretary to the Government of India

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September 201412

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fljnnZ ;k ruko ds dkj.k LokLF; <hyk jgsxk] vkSj

Øks/ esa o`f¼ gksxh A O;kikj eklkjEHk esa vPNk jgsxk

fdUrq fnukad 18 ds ckn O;olk; esa fxjkoV vkSj

my>uksa dk lkeuk djuk iM+ ldrk gS A cU/q&ckU/oksa

vkSj ifjokj esa vucu jgsxh A lUrku dh rjiQ ls Hkh fpUrk,a c<saxh] vkSj

vkfFkZd&fLFkfr eklkUr esa MkekMksy gksxh A fo'ks"kdj eghus dk vUr

vf/drj fo"k;ksa esa vlqfo/ktud jgsxk] nkEiR;&lEcU/ Hkh blh le;

T;knkrj çHkkfor gksaxs A

mik; & xk; dh lsok djsa vkSj mldks pkjk fyk;sa A

bl jkf'k ds yksxksa dks LokLF; lEcU/h fpark cuh jgsxh]

vkSj LoHkko esa mrkoykiu vkSj Øks/ dh vf/drk

jgsxh A O;kikfjd i{k vPNk jgsxk] fdUrq eklkUr esa

dqN mrkj&p<+ko ds ;ksx gSa A ikfjokfjd leL;k,a cuh

jgsaxh] vkids LoHkko esa vk;s ifjorZu ds dkj.k

cU/q&ckU/o vkils #"V jgsaxs A lUrku dh rjiQ ls

ijs'kkfu;ksa dk lkeuk djuk iM+ ldrk gS A vkfFkZd&fLFkfr Bhd jgsxh] nkEiR;

lEcU/ksa esa etcwrh vkSj lkfRodrk dh o`f¼ gksxh

mik; & ¶¬ æka æha ækSa l% 'kqØk; ue%¸ bl ea=k dk ti djuk vkids

fy, ykHknk;d fl¼ gksxk A

bl jkf'k ds yksxksa dk LokLF; lkekU; jgsxk] Øks/ dh

vf/drk ds dkj.k yksxksa ls >xM+k gksus dh

lEHkkouk,a gSa] blfy, fo'ks"k lko/kuh jsa A O;olk; esa

larqyu cuk jgsxk] vkSj vkfFkZd&fLFkfr esa Hkh lq/kj

vk;sxk A cU/q&ckU/oksa rFkk ikfjokfjd lnL;ksa d s lkFk

dNq ckrk as dk s yds j eueVq ko gkxs k vkjS my>u as c<xas h A

fnukda 18 d s ckn lUrku dh rjiQ fo'k"s k è;ku nus s dh vko';dkrk jgxs h D;kfas d

vè;;u e as mud s vkRecy dk ßkl gkus s dh lEHkkouk, a vf/d g aS A çes &lEcU/k as e as

lra yq u cuk jgxs k A

mik; & Jh nqxkZ v"VksÙkj'kruke Lrks=k dk ikB vkids dk;ks± esa vk;s fo?uksa

dks 'kkar djsxk A

;g ekg vkids LokLF; ds fy, dqN <hyk<kyk jgxs k]

blfy, LokLF; dh rjiQ fo'k"s k è;ku n as A lekt d s

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cuxs k] /kfedZ &dk;k ±s e as of̀¼ vkjS O;kikj e as mUufr gkxs h]

HkkX; vkidk lkFk nxs k A fdUr q fnukda 18 d s ckn

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ik;xas s A lUrku dk vPNk lg;kxs feyxs k vkjS vkfFkdZ &fLFkfr lkekU; jgxs h A

nkEiR;&lEcU/ eklkUr e as dNq çHkkfor gkxas s A

mik; & Jh vkfnR;ßn;Lrks=k dk çfrfnu ikB vkidks ubZ ÅtkZ vkSj LiQwfrZ

nsxk vkSj fo?u 'kkar gksaxs A

vkid s LokLF; e as fnukda 18 d s ckn fxjkoV vk ldrh g]S vkjS LoHkko e as fpMf+ pMk+ iu jgxs k] blfy, lko/kuh j as A O;kikj lkekU; jgxs k] fdUr q dkiQh fu.k;Z k as e as HkkX; lkFk nxs k A ikfjokfjd&fLFkfr lkekU; gkxss h] fcuk ç;kts u dh ;k=kkvk as e as /u dk O;; gkxs k A 'k=kvq k as l s lko/ku jgu s dh vko';drk g S A lUrku d s LokLF; dk fo'k"s k è;ku j as A vko';drkulq kj vk; d s lk/u cur s jgxas s A çes &lEcU/k as

e as ruko gkxs k tkfs d fnukda 18 d s ckn vf/d c< + ldrk g S blfy, ijLij O;ogkj e as 'kkfUr vkjS lkgS kn Z dh vf/drk dk s egÙo n as A

mik; & Jh guqeku pkyhlk dk ikB vkSj guqeku th dh iwtk vkidh ijs'kkfu;ksa dks t#j de djsxh A

;g ekg vki isV dh leL;kvksa ls çHkkfor gks ldrs gSa

] blfy, ku&iku esa fo'ks"k lko/kuh jsa A ekufld

ruko ds dkj.k LoHkko dqN mM+k& mMk lk jgsxk]

blfy, LoHkko esa dqN Øks/ dh o`f¼ gkssxh A

ikfjokfjd ifjos'k esa fnukad 18 ds ckn ckn dqN

ijs'kkfu;ksa dk okrkoj.k jgsxk] vkSj lUrku Hkh blh

le; ds nkSjku euekuh djsxh] fdUrq vè;;u ds {ks=k

esa cPps vo'; nÙkfpÙk jgsaxs A vkfFkZd&fLFkfr esa mrkj&p<+ko vkSj nkEiR;

lEcU/ lkekU; jgsaxs A

mik; & Jh x.ks'k ladVuk'ku Lrks=k dk ikB vkids fy, fo'ks"k iQynk;d

vkSj leL;k dk gy djus ckyk gksxk A

LokLFk lkekU; vkjS L=kh i{k l s fpUrk cuh jgxs h A O;kikj e asdkbs Z Hkh fu.k;Z lko/kuh iow dZ y as D;kfa sd NkVs h lh vlko/kuh vkidk s vf/d my>u e as Mky ldrh g]S O;olk; e as ena h dk nkjS jgxs k] fdUr q cU/&q ckU/o vkjS ikfjokfjd lnL;k a s dk çes vkjS lg;kxs vkidk s ub Z Åtk Z nxs k A lUrku dh rjiQ eklkUr e as vf/d è;ku nus s dh vko';drk jgxs h A vk; l s vf/d O;; fpra k dk dkj.k cuxs k] ftll s fd vkfFkdZ &fLFkfr çHkkfor gkxs h A çes &lEcU/k a s e a s dHkh e/jq rk vkjS dHkh

dMo+ kgV dk lkeuk djuk iMxs+ k] blfy, thoulkFkh d s çfr uje LoHkko dk s egÙo n as A

mik; & Hkxoku l;w Z dk s fujUrj v?; Z vkjS Jh y{eh pkyhlk dk fujUrj ikB vkidh ij's kkfu;k a s dk s de djxs k A

bl jkf'k ds yksxksa dk LokLF; mÙke jgsxk vkSj LoHkko

esa mxzrk dh o`f¼ gksxh] #ds gq, dk;Z cusaxs vkSj 'k=kq

ihNs gVsaxs A ikfjokfjd&okrkoj.k esa lejlrk vkSj

vkè;kfRedrk dh o`f¼ gksxh] dksbZ u dksbZ

/kfeZd&dk;Z djus dh ;kstuk vo'; liQy gksxh A

lUrku dh rjiQ dHkh dqN vPNk vkSj dHkh

udkjkRed ifj.kke çkIr gksxk A eklkUr esa vk; ls vf/d O;; ds dkj.k

vkfFkZd&fLFkfr çHkkfor gksxh] fdUrq vkjEHk esa vk; ds vPNs volj çkIr

gksaxs] vkSj eku&çfr"Bk esa o`f¼ jgsxh A çse&lEcU/ksa ds çfr ykijokgh jgsxh]

ftlds dkj.k thoulkFkh vkils ukq'k gksxk A

mik; & xk; dh lsok djuk] vkSj Jh nsoh lwÙkQ dk ikB mÙkeiQynk;h gksxk A

vkidk LokLF; lkekU; jgsxk] fdUrq fnukad 19 ds ckn

LokLF; esa dqN vlekurk vkSj Øks/ esa o`f¼ gksxh A

jÙkQ&fiÙk &fodkj dh lEHkkouk,a cu ldrh gSa A

cU/q&ck/oksa ds lg;ksx ls O;kikj esa ykHk feysxk vkSj

vkfFkZd&fLFkfr vPNh gksxh] fdUrq fnukad 18 ds ckn

fLFkfr fcxM+ ldrh gS] vk; ls vf/d O;; gksus dh

lEHkkouk,a gSa] blfy, lko/ku jgsa A viuksa ds lkFk mitk

fookn vkfFkZd&ykHk dks çHkkfor djsxk A cPpksa ds LokLF; dh fpark cuh jgsxh vkSj

çse&lEcU/ksa esa mrkj&p<+ko dk lkeuk djuk iM+sxk A

mik; & Jh ukjk;.k dop dk ikB ck/kvksa ls eqfÙkQ vkSj thou esa rjDdh dk ekxZ

ç'kLr djsxk A

bl jkf'k ds yksx LokLF; lEcfU/r fpUrkvksa ls xzLr jgsaxs]

fo'ks"kdj fnukad 18 ds ckn ijs'kkuh c<+ ldrh gS A O;kikj

yxHkx lkekU; jgsxk] fdUrq eklkUr esa vpkud mRiUu gqbZ

fnDdrksa dk lkeuk djuk iM+sxk] ml le; viuksa dk lkFk

Hkh miyC/ ugha gksxk A lUrku ds LokLF; vkSj LoHkko ij

fo'ks"k è;ku nsa] eklkUr lUrku i{k ls lqdj gksxk A

vkfFkZd&fLFkfr vPNh jgsxh] çse&lEcU/ lkekU; gksaxss] fiQj

Hkh vkilh O;ogkj esa lpsr jgus dh vko';drk gS A

mik; & 'kfuokj dks 'kfuefUnj esa rsy dk nhid tyk,a] vkSj lw;Z Hkxoku dks

çfrfnu v?;Z nsa A

LokLF; dh n`f"V ls vkids fy, ;g ekg lkekU; jgsxk]

rFkkfi eklkUr esa nq?kZVuk vkfn dh vk'kadk gS ] blfy,

okgukfn pykus esa lko/kuh jsa A O;kikj esa mUufr ds volj

çkIr gksaxs A ifjJe dh vf/drk jgsxh] fdUrq ifj.kke vPNs

çkIr gksaxs A ikfjokfjd lnL;ksa ds lkFk T;knk rkyesy

ugha cSBsxk A lUrku dks ysdj dqN ijs'kkfu;ksa dk lkeuk

djuk iM+ ldrk gS] buds LoHkko esa vkyL; vkSj dk;ks± esa

dqN #dkoVsa vk;saxh A vko';drkuq:i vk; ds volj çkIr gksaxs A çse&lacU/ksa

dh rjiQ fo'ks"k è;ku nsus dh vko';drk jgsxh A

mik; & ¶¬ 'ka 'kuS'pjk; ue%¸ bl ea=k dk ti çfrfnu 'kke ds le; djsa A

bl ekl LokLF; T;knkrj lgh jgsxk] fdUrq pksV vkfn dh

lEHkkouk,a jgsaxh A xqLls ds dkj.k vpkud curs dk;ks± esa

fo?u iM+ ldrk gS A O;olk; esa viuksa ds lg;ksx ls dke

cusaxs A ikfjokfjd lnL; vkidk lg;ksx nsaxs] vkSj lEcU/ksa

esa e/qjrk dk Hkko jgsxk A /eZ&deZ ds dk;ks± ij /u dk

O;; gksxk A lUrku i{k ls vki fuf'pUr jgsaxs A eklkUr esa

dksbZ fcxM+k gqvk dk;Z fl¼ gks ldrk gS A nkEiR;&çse esa dqN deh jgsxh] ftlds

dkj.k vlarks"k vkSj fujk'kk dk lkeuk djuk iM+sxk A

mik; & Hkxoku Jh lw;Zukjk;.k dh mikluk vkids fy;s fo'ks"k iQynk;h jgsxh A

GRC GLOBAL CHA STUDY CIRCLEOBJECTIVE

To conduct specialized program in imparting training to the candidates appearing in CHA Regulation 6 examination and preparing them for final CHA interview.

COURSE @ APPROACH

The course has been designed with the help of highly qualified, competent faculty members and consultants with vast experience in the field of Central Excise & Customs and in consonance with the prescribed syllabus. All subjects required to provide comprehensive knowledge about all aspects of the subjects are covered in the course. Moreover, the course material for the topics of significant importance has been

written in very simple language and lucid manner, explaining the subject both pragmatically and conceptually along with relevant citations.

The candidates are also acquainted with the interview drill and mock test after completion of the course.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

The institute also deals exhaustively in Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax matters. It undertakes training program for corporate personnel in indirect taxation The following specialized courses are undertaken

MODULE 1 --> FOR RULE 6 OF CHA REGULATIONSMODULE 2 --> FOR G-CARDMODULE 3 --> PREPARATION FOR FINAL CHA INTERVIEWMODULE 4 --> THROUGH CORRESPONDENCE ONLY FOR G-CARD

List of Study Material Provided

Customs

§Laws & Procedure § Baggage & Rules

§Fera & Fema §Book of Forms For details contact course coordinator 9953048514 or 9868110393Grcglobalstudycircle14@gmail.com

vDrwcj&2014

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September 201413

Guidelines regarding Structure, Administrative set up and Functions of Audit Commissionerates

On implementation of cadre review there would be 23 Central Excise Zones and 4 Service Tax Zones with each zone having one or more Audit Commissionerates. Each Audit Commissionerate would cover assessees registered under the jurisdiction of 3 to 5 Executive Commissionerates. Principal Chief Commissioner and Chief Commissioner shall assign the jurisdiction of Audit Commissioner in the zone, decide the location of Audit Commissionerates and its subordinate offices. Following guidelines may be followed while finalizing the location and organizational structure of Audit Commissionerate and its subordinate offices, subject to deviations needed to cater to the local requirements.Location of Audit Commissionerate: 2.1 The headquarters and the subordinate offices of the Audit Commissionerates could be co-located in metropolitan city based zones.2.2 In non-metropolitan city based zones, Executive Commissionerates are spread over different cities therefore the h e a d q u a r t e r s o f t h e A u d i t Commissionerates may be located in the city where zonal office is located, and at least one of the Circles (subordinate office explained later) may be located in the city where Executive Commissionerates are located.2.3 In cases where there is more than one Audit Commissionerate in the Zone, the location of the second or third Audit Commissionerate and its subordinate offices may be decided based on the geographical concentration of the taxpayers. H o w e v e r , t h e H e a d q u a r t e r s o f t h e A u d i t Commissionerate may be in the city where the Executive Commissionerate is located. This is to ensure that audit officers work in close coordination with the Executive Commissionerates and are accessible to the assessees.2.4 LTU Audit - Two LTU Audit Commissionerates have been created. LTU Audit Commissionerate at Delhi shall have jurisdiction over assessees registered with LTU Delhi, Kolkata or Bangalore whereas LTU Audit Commissionerate at Mumbai shall have jurisdiction over the assessees registered with LTU Mumbai or Chennai. The assigning of audit to the subordinate offices of these Commissionerates may be carried out taking into account the location of cluster of assesses. While assigning assessees to the subordinate office, assessees with same PAN number should be assigned to one subordinate officer. C o n f i g u r a t i o n o f A u d i t Commissionerate: 3.1 Audit Commissionerate would comprise of a Headquarters similar to an Executive Commissionerate and subordinate offices proposed to be called Circles similar to a Divisions. The Circles would be headed by a Deputy or Assistant Commissioner. The Circles would comprise of Audit Groups equivalent to the Range offices which would have Superintendents and Inspectors. 3.2 Audit Commissioner would be Head of the Department and the headquarters would have two Additional or Joint Commissioners, who are in turn would be supported by two Deputy or Assistant Commissioners each. 3.3 The proposed sections in the Headquarters are: i.Planning and coordination section to look after scheduling and support in conduct of MCM meeting, maintenance and updationof Assessee Master File, maintenance of Records/Registers and submission of reports to look after

formation / constitution of audit groups and deployment of officers matching skills with audit requirement, maintenance of database of officer's profile, training needs of officers.ii.Administration, Personnel & Vigilance section to look after administrative matters, transfer, leave, allowances, budgetary grants, vigilance matters etc. iii. Technical section to look after draft Show Cause Notices, audit follow up, court cases, Board's circulars, instructions etc. iv. Risk Management and Quality Assurance section to look after risk based selection of units, use of Third Party Source of Information, maintenance of Audit database of units to be audited, selecting themes/issues for audit, performance appraisal and Quality Assurance 3.4 The aforementioned four sections of an Audit Commissionerate can be manned by either 3 or 4 Deputy / Assistant Commissioners in the Headquarters. In case of three Sections in Headquarters, the Technical and Planning function can merge into one. The other Deputy / Assistant Commissioners would be in charge of Circles. Each Audit Commissionerate may have 6 to 7 Circles under its jurisdiction.3.5 The Circles would be assigned the geographical jurisdiction of either an entire Commissionerate or some D i v i s i o n s o f a n E x e c u t i v e Commissionerate. 3.6 Division of the jurisdiction of an Executive Commissionerate between two Audit Commissionerates / Audit circles should be avoided.3.7 In addition to geographically defined Circles, the Audit Commissionerates may have functionally oriented Circles for conducting Theme/Issue based audit (for example Insurance, telecom, Banking services or specific commodities etc) and its territorial jurisdiction should cover the jurisdiction of the entire Audit Commissionerate. Organisational Structure of Audit CommissioneratesStaffing norms:4.1 Headquarters shall be manned by one Commissioner, two Additional or Joint Commissioners and three or four Deputy Commissioners.4.2 Each Audit Circle shall be headed by Deputy or Assistant Commissioner and will also comprise of Audit Groups. The Audit Groups deployed for large units should comprise of 2-3 Superintendents and 4-6 Inspectors. For Medium units the Audit Group should include 1 - 2 Superintendents and 2 - 4 Inspectors. For Small units the Audit Group should include, 1 Superintendent and 1 - 2 Inspectors.4.3 Groups for Large units, Medium units and Small units should be in such number that the following distribution of manpower deploymentin audit groups is achieved.a. 50% of manpower to Large units b. 30% of manpower to Medium units c. 10 % of manpower to Small units d. 10% of manpower for planning, coordination and follow up.Functions of Audit Commissionerate5.1 Monitoring Committee Meeting (MCM) should be convened by Audit Commissionerate, for which the Executive Commissioner or his representative will be invited to attend. The decision with regard to settlement of an audit objections after recovery of all dues or dropping of the unsustainable audit objections shall vest with the Audit

Commissioner. Approved audit objections including those in which show cause notices are proposed to be issued should be conveyed to the Executive Commissioner in the form of Minutes of the MCMs, who shall respond to these o b j e c t i o n s c o n v e y i n g h i s agreement/disagreement within 15 days of the receipt of the minutes of the MCM.5.2 On points of difference, further consultations may be held for a maximum period of 15 days. In case the difference persists, the final decision to issue show cause notice rests with the Audit Commissioner.5.3 Audit Commissionerate shall issue the show cause notice, wherever necessary, after the audit objections are confirmed in the MCMs. The show cause notice shall be answerable to and adjudicated by the Executive Commissioner or the subordinate officers of the Executive Commissionerate as per the adjudication limits prescribed the Board. Audit function will end with the issuance of show cause notice and further action including adjudication and follow-up shall be the responsibility of Executive Commissioner.5.4 Litigation after adjudication proceedings (including defending the order before the appellate forums-C o m m i s s i o n e r (Appeals)/Tribunals/Courts) shall be the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f E x e c u t i v e Commissioner. However, Audit Commissionerates shall remain closely associated and provide inputs wherever required.5.5 The function of pre-audit/post-audits of refunds, rebates and brand rate fixation of drawback shall continue with the j u r i s d i c t i o n a l E x e c u t i v e Commissionerate.5.6 CERA audit shall be attended by the Executive Commissionerate by compiling necessary information and replying to the audit objections raised by C&AG. Audit Commissioners will have no role either in compiling / furnishing information to CERA or replying to the C&AG objections. However, it is desirable that Audit Commissionerate is aware of the objections raised by C&AG. Therefore, copy of the objections received from CERA and replies furnished by the Executive Commissioner shall be forwarded to the Audit Commissionerate by the Executive Commissionerate.5.7 Anti-evasion functions shall continue with the Executive Commissionerates. Audit Commissionerates may refer, with the approval of the MCM, any case arising out of audit where detailed investigation is n e c e s s a r y t o t h e E x e c u t i v e Commissionerates. 5.8 Special Audit shall be ordered by the Audit Commissionerates. S e c t i o n 14A / 14AA of CEA, 1944 and Section 72A of the Finance Act, 1994 provide for such special audits in the specified circumstances by Cost Accountants / Chartered Accountants. The Audit Commissioners shall be the competent authority to order Special Audit, either on their own satisfaction or on a reference received from the Execut ive Commissioner.5.9 Audit should be so conducted that the assessee is least inconvenienced. Documents as prescribed in the manual should be called and preparatory work finalized ahead of audit. Audit should be completed expeditiously and as soon as the Final Audit Report is prepared , it should be ensured that a copy of the

Final Audit Report including ' NIL ' report is dispatched or provided to the assessee under acknowledgement to be kept in Assessee Master File.5.10 Currently, audit is undertaken for each tax separately even though the business and financial records verified during the audit remains common for all the three tax administered by the Board . In order to improve the efficiency of audit process, it has been decided that coordinated and integrated audit covering two or more taxes for assessees having common PAN shall be carried out. Necessary legal enablement has been provided in the notification conferring terr i torial jurisdict ion to the Commissionerates such that Service Tax Audit Commissionerates can audit Central Excise assessees within a zone and vice-versa. An assessee who is registered under Central Excise, Service Tax and Customs need not be subjected to three separate audits. The information about his various registrations is available and such assessees would be subjected to a complete audit by the designated Audit Commissionerate. For this purpose the Principal Chief Commissioner / Chief Commissioner will assign the audit of an assessee to a particular Audit Commissionerate, based on payment of C e n t r a l E x c i s e d u t y o r Service tax whichever is higher. Following the same principle OSPCA would be also be carried out by the designated Central Excise or Service Tax Audit Commissionerate, in an integrated manner.5.11 It is proposed to issue risk based audit norms in due course of time. In the interim the existing audit norms may be used to ensure that audit functions continue efficiently.Transfer policy and capacity building:6.0 Audit requires specialized skills in accountancy and handling of financial / SAP or ERP related databases apart from domain knowledge of Central Excise, Service Tax and Customs law and procedures. The officers need to gain knowledge of compliance requirements under Income Tax, Companies Act, VAT laws to do a comprehensive and meaningful audit. The officers who have gained expertise in this regard are few. DG (Audit) in consultation with NACEN shall develop appropriate modules for training of officers in audit functions and inform field on further progress. As it takes time for officers to gain expertise in audit techniques , appropriate transfer policy to be followed by Zones shall be prepared by the DG, Audit with due approval of the Board so that the department can adequately use officers for audit after they have acquired the necessary skills . Suggested transfer policy shall be circulated by the DG , Audit after approval of the Board .Removal of difficulty -7.0 Past guidelines and instructions on the subject stand modified to the extent they are in conflict with these guidelines . If there is any difficulty in implementing the above guidelines , Principal Chief C o m m i s s i o n e r s a n d C h i e f Commissioners are authorised to issue appropriate instructions to be valid for temporary periods to remove difficulty in setting up and operationalizing Audit Commissionerates . Issues which need to be addressed in the Board may be forwarded to the Director General of Audit with suggestions for further examination and seeking approval of the Board where needed .Circular No. 985/09/2014-CXF. No. 206/03/2014-CX.6(ROHAN ) OSD (CX-6)

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September 201414

Amendments to the Appeal provisions in Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax made by Finance Act, 2014- Issue of

clarifications reg.The Finance Act (No.2), 2014 has been enacted on 06.08.2014. Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 have been substituted with new sections to prescribe mandatory pre-deposit as a percentage of the duty demanded where duty demanded is in dispute or where duty demanded and penalty levied are in dispute. Where penalty alone is in dispute, the pre-deposit shall be calculated on the penalty imposed.1.2 The amended provisions apply to appeals filed after 6th August, 2014. Sections 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 contain specific saving clause to state that all pending appeals/stay applications filed till the enactment of the Finance Bill shall be governed by the erstwhile provisions.1.3 Section 35FF of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 129EE of the Customs Act, 1962 have also been substituted to provide for payment of refund along with interest at the prescribed rate on the amount pre-deposited from the date of such payment till the date of refund. In exercise of the powers conferred under the new Section 35FF of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 129EE of the Customs Act , Notification Nos 24/2014-CE(NT) and 70/2014-Cus(NT), both dated 12.08.2014 have been issued specifying six percent as rate of interest on refunds made under those sections.1.4 Various doubts / issues have been raised by trade bodies, industry associations and field formations etc. on the implementation of the new provisions. With a view to implement the scheme smoothly, the following clarifications are issued.2. Quantum of pre-deposit in terms of Section 35F of Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962:2.1 Doubts have been expressed with regard to the amount to be deposited in terms of the amended provisions while filing appeal against the order of Commissioner (Appeals) before the CESTAT. Sub-section (iii) of Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 stipulate payment of 10% of the duty or penalty payable in pursuance of the decision or order being appealed against i.e. the order of Commissioner (Appeal). It is, therefore, clarified that in the event of appeal against the order of Commissioner (Appeal) before the Tribunal, 10% is to be paid on the amount of duty demanded or penalty imposed by the Commissioner (Appeal). This need not be the same as the amount of duty demanded or penalty imposed in the Order-in-Original in the said case.2.2 In a case, where penalty alone is in dispute and penalties have been imposed under different provisions of the Act, the pre-deposit would be calculated based on the aggregate of all penalties imposed in the order against which appeal is proposed to be filed.2.3 In case of any short payment or non-payment of the amount stipulated

under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962, the appeal filed is liable for rejection.3.Payment made during investigation:3.1 Payment made during the course of investigation or audit, prior to the date on which appeal is filed, to the extent of 7.5% or 10%, subject to the limit of Rs 10 crores, can be considered to be deposit made towards fulfillment of stipulation under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962. Any shortfall from the amount stipulated under these sections shall have to be paid before filing of appeal before the appellate authority. As a corollary, amounts paid over and above the amounts stipulated under Section 35 F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962, shall not be treated as deposit under the said sections. 3.2 Since the amount paid during investigation/audit takes the colour of deposit under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 only when the appeal is filed, the date of filing of appeal shall be deemed to be the date of deposit made in terms of the said sections. 3.3 In case of any short-payment or non-payment of the amount stipulated under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962, the appeal filed by the appellant is liable for rejection.4. Recovery of the Amounts during the Pendency of Appeal:4.1 Vide Circular No.967/1/2013 dated 1st January, 2013, Board has issued detailed instructions with regard to recovery of the amounts due to the Government during the pendency of stay applications or appeals with the appellate authority. This Circular would not apply to cases where appeal is filed after the enactment of the amended Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962.4.2 No coercive measures for the recovery of balance amount i.e., the amount in excess of 7.5% or 10% deposited in terms of Section 35F of Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of Customs Act, 1962, shall be taken during the pendency of appeal where the party / assessee shows to the jurisdictional authorities:(i) proof of payment of stipulated amount as pre-deposit of 7.5% / 10%, subject to a limit of Rs.10 crores, as the case may be; and(ii) the copy of appeal memo filed with the appellate authority.4.3 Recovery action, if any, can be initiated only after the disposal of the case by the Commissioner (Appeal) / Tribunal in favour of the Department. For example, if the Tribunal decides a case in favour of the Department, recovery action for the amount over and above the amount deposited under the provisions of Section 35F / 129E may be initiated unless the order of the Tribunal is stayed by the High

Court/Supreme court. The recovery, in such cases, would include the interest, at the specified rate, from the date duty became payable, till the date of payment.5. Refund of pre-deposit:5.1 Where the appeal is decided in favour of the party / assessee, he shall be entitled to refund of the amount deposited along with the interest at the prescribed rate from the date of making the deposit to the date of refund in terms of Section 35FF of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129EE of the Customs Act, 1962.5.2 Pre-deposit for filing appeal is not payment of duty. Hence, refund of pre-deposit need not be subjected to the process of refund of duty under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962. Therefore, in all cases where the appellate authority has decided the matter in favour of the appellant, refund with interest should be paid to the appellant within 15 days of the receipt of the letter of the appellant seeking refund, irrespective of whether order of the appellate authority is proposed to be challenged by the Department or not.5.3 If the Department contemplates appeal against the order of the Commissioner (A) or the order of CESTAT, which is in favour of the appellant, refund along with interest would still be payable unless such order is stayed by a competent Appellate Authority.5.4 In the event of a remand, refund of the pre-deposit shall be payable along with interest.5.5 In case of partial remand where a portion of the duty is confirmed, it may be ensured that the duty due to the Government on the portion of order in favour of the revenue is collected by adjusting the deposited amount along with interest.5.6. It is reiterated that refund of pre-deposit made should not be withheld on the ground that Department is proposing to file an appeal or has filed an appeal against the order granting relief to the party. Jurisdictional Commissioner should ensure that refund of deposit made for hearing the appeal should be paid within the stipulated time of 15 days as per para 5.2 supra.6. Procedure and Manner of making the pre-deposits:6.1 E-payment facility can be made use of by the appellants, wherever possible.6.2 A self attested copy of the document showing satisfactory proof of payment shall be submitted before the appellate authority as proof of payment made in terms of Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962.6.3 Column 7 of EA.1, column 6 of CA.1 and column 6 of ST.4 for filing appeal before Commiss ioner (Appeals), seek details of the duty/penalty deposited. The same may be used for indicating the deposits made under amended Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or section 129E of the Customs Act,

1962.6.4 The appeal filed before the CESTAT are filed along with the appeal memo in prescribed format (Form EA-3 for Central Excise Appeals and Form CA-3 for the Customs Appeals). Column 14(i) of the said appeal forms seeks information of payment of duty, fine, penalty, interest along with proof of payment (challan). These columns may, therefore, be used for the purpose of indicating the amount of deposit made, which shall be verified by the appellate authority before registering the appeal.6.5 As per existing instructions, a copy of the appeal memo along with proof of deposit made shall be filed with the jurisdictional officers.7. Procedure for refund: 7.1 A simple letter from the person who has made such deposit, requesting for return of the said amount, along with a self attested Xerox copy of the order in appeal or the CESTAT order consequent to which the deposit becomes returnable and attested Xerox copy of the document evidencing payment of such deposit, a d d r e s s e d t o J u r i s d i c t i o n a l Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax or the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, would suffice for refund of the amount deposited along with interest at the rate specified. 7.2 Record of deposits madunder Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 should be maintained by the Commissionerate so as to facilitate seamless verification of the deposits at the time of processing the refund claims made in case of favourable order from the Appellate Authority. 8. Amendment to Preamble of Orders: 8.1 In order to make the new provisions known to the assessee / trade every adjudicating authority lower in rank to the Commissioner is directed to incorporate the following sentence in the Preamble to the order being issued by them “An appeal against this order shall lie before the Commissioner (Appeal) on payment of 7.5% of the duty demanded where duty or duty and penalty are in dispute or penalty, are in dispute or penalty, wherepenalty alone is in dispute. ” 8.2 The following may be added in the preamble of the orders issued by the Commissioner (Appeals) “An appeal against this order shall lie before the Tribunal on payment of 10% of the duty demanded where duty or duty and penalty are in dispute, or penalty, where penalty alone is in dispute”. 8.3 The following may be added in the preamble of the orders issued by the C o m m i s s i o n e r a s o r i g i n a l adjudicating authority “An appeal against this order shall lie before the Tribunal on payment of 7.5% of the duty demanded where duty or duty and penalty are in dispute, or penalty, where penalty alone is in dispute”.

Circular No 984/08/2014-CX F. No. 390/Budget/1/2012-JC (Sunil K. Sinha ) Director (Judicial Cell)

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September 201415

Natural justice- Unnatural exploitation by Revenue officers:

Somesh AroraCCO, Amicus

Rarus, Ex-Comm,Customs &

Central Excise

It may not be an exaggeration that barring some 20 percent officials in the field, remaining 80 percent either are n o t a w a r e o f principles of natural justice or do not want to follow it or

have a half hearted commitment in observing the principles leading to high level of litigation with no result to the Department as recoveries are jeopardized and exploitation of those tax payers, who want to run business and have to pay interest cost, in accordance with the amended law on interest which after 2011 provides that even in such eventuality of remand, the interest clock will continue to tik. Firstly, coming to supply of relied upon documents, there is an almost all pervasive habit of either not supplying or supplying only part of the relied upon documents with receipt which becomes matter of agitation. In one case, a Premier Agency took the receipt of the relied upon documents even when latter events proved that they had never received the same from the field officers. The running from pillar to post to prove his point cost assessee a fortune worth few lakhs, which he could have easily deposited with the Government rather than spending on Airlines between Banglore and Panchkula. In this context, DRI does a good job of obtaining acknowledgement by having a running serial number of all the pages of SCN and RUDs leaving no scope for confusion, but DGCEI officers and other field officers have a variable practice leading to litigation. Again, on the point of non-relied upon documents there continues to be dispute, sometimes agencies like DGCEI direct collection in 30 days but the field units do not comply, other time the documents recovered from others but required for defense or relied upon in the body of the SCN, are not made available. Secondly, though the law envisages up to three adjournments generally before an ex- parte order is passed, three hearings are taken to be sufficient or even the hearing when Adjudicating Authority was not available in the office due to some reason is also taken as an opportunity or three date are provided in one hearing notice considering these to be sufficient contrary to the rulings on the subject. Thirdly, the settled position in law relating to cross examination is ignored with impunity by the field officers as if not calling a witness is something of a sacrosanct duty they

have to do as revenue officials. In this regard, Section 9 D of the Central Excise Act,1944 and mutatis mutandis, provisions u/s 138 B of the Customs Act, 1962 are disregarded with impunity.SECTION 138B Relevancy of s t a t e m e n t s u n d e r c e r t a i n circumstances. - (1) A statement made and signed by a person before any gazetted officer of customs during the course of any inquiry or proceeding under this Act shall be relevant, for the purpose of proving, in any prosecution for an offence under this Act, the truth of the facts which it contains, - when the person who (a) made the statement is dead or cannot be found, or is incapable of giving evidence, or is kept out of the way by the adverse party, or whose presence cannot be obtained without an amount of delay or expense which, under the circumstances of the case, the court considers unreasonable; or when the person who (b) made the statement is examined as a witness in the case before the court and the court is of opinion that, having regard to the circumstances of the case, the statement should be admitted in evidence in the interests of justice. The provisions of sub-section (1) shall, so far as may be, (2) apply in relation to any proceeding under this Act, other than a proceeding before a court, as they apply in relation to a proceeding before a court.Both the above Sections, i.e. Sec 9D and 138 B were introduced in the relative legislation by the amending Act of 1973. Section 9D came in for scrutiny of H`ble Delhi High Court in the matter of J.K. Cigarettes, wherein the H`ble H.C. as per the direction of the Apex court was deciding the question of Constitutional validity of the aforesaid amendment on the ground of affording excessive power to A d j u d i c a t i n g A u t h o r i t y a n d possibility of misuse or abuse by not providing cross examination on some pretext or the other. In the matter reported in 2009 (242) E.L.T. 189 ( D e l . ) J & K C I G A R E T T E S LTD.Versus COLLECTOR OF CENTRAL EXCISE, while holding that cross examination is generally the rule and refusal subject to conditions of Section 9 D an exception. The H`ble Court summarized its findings as follows: “Para 32. Thus, we summarize our conclusions as under :-(i) We are of the opinion that the provisions of Section 9D(2) of the Act are not unconstitutional or ultra vires;(ii) while invoking Section 9D of the Act, the concerned authority is to form an opinion on the basis of material on record that a particular ground, as

stipulated in the said Section, exists and is established;(Iii) such an opinion has to be supported with reasons;(iv) before arriving at this opinion, the authority would give opportunity to t he a f f ec t ed pa r ty t o make submissions on the available material on the basis of which the authority intends to arrive at the said opinion; and (v) it is always open to the affected party to challenge the invocation of provisions of Section 9D of the Act in a particular case by filing statutory appeal, which provides for judicial review.” Therefore, it is clear that any refusal of cross examination is required to be subjected to procedural and substantive safeguards as enumerated above by the H`ble H.C. of Delhi, so as not to be excessive abuse of power by the Adjudicating Authority. Otherwise the Higher appellate Authorities are bound to remand the matters. The same findings find echo in the later observations of various High Courts and also of Delhi H.C. in the matter of 2 0 1 3 ( 2 9 4 ) E . L . T . 3 5 3 (Del.)BASUDEV GARG Versus COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS- Adjudication - Evidence - Statement against assessee cannot be used without giving them opportunity of cross-examining deponent - Cross-examination is valuable right of accused/noticee in quasi judicial proceeding which can have adverse consequences for them - However, it can be taken away in exceptional circumstances stipulated in Section 9D of Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 138B of Customs Act, 1962 - Unless such circumstances exist, noticee would have right to cross-examination. [paras 10, 14]. However, despite law being so clear the departmental officers continue to refuse cross examination on slightest pretext under some old and outdated judgments which are quoted out of context to somehow give jus t i f ica t ion to refuse cross examination. It is to be noted that neither Sea Customs Act, 1878 nor Customs Act, 1962 or Central Excise Act, 19454 prior to 1973 had any such provision as Section 138 B ( reproduced supra) or Section 9 D respectively, therefore all the judgments rendered in context of old law even of Supreme Court, High Courts or Tribunal on natural justice prior to 1973 or in context of old law or without recourse to the new provisions are now of no relevance and Delhi H.C. and other High Courts like Allahabad High Court who have noted the decisions of J.K. Cigarettes hold the field now and reliance upon old judgments by the departmental

'Cylinders' from scrap dealer reveal treasure

trove of sound recordingsMUMBAI: The Customs office in Dadar has in its safekeeping a box containing a rare treasure, and it did not come from a seizure of illegal goods. Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise Amar Nath Sharma claims to have unearthed the oldest and rarest sound recordings in Indian history dating back to 1899. His cache of 200-odd 'brown wax cylinders' introduces the voice of Ustad Alladiya Khan, the founder of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, and Pandit V D Paluskar who founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalay, "artistes whom no living Indian has heard". Cylinders are hollow wax rolls about six inches in length that are played on a phonogram. The phono was invented by Thomas Edison but fell into disuse with the entry of the circular disc in 1902. The collection includes 'Vande Mataram' in the voice of Rabindranath Tagore, which was recorded by Tagore's friend Hemendra Bose in the wake of the Partition of Bengal in 1905. Vignettes of the fabled courtesan from Calcutta, Gauhar Jaan, a Parsi theatre artiste from Jaipur named Miss Allah Bandi, as well as doyens like Peara Sahab figure prominently on the list. Particularly relevant to Maharashtra are the founding fathers of the Marathi 'sangeet natak' like Pt Bhaurao Kolhatkar, Pt Bhaskarbuwa Bakhle and Bal Gandharva. Dadasaheb Phalke has spoken about the making of ' R a j a H a r i s h c h a n d r a ' a s w e l l . Sharma says, "India has no archive that documents the history of sound recording, be it classical or film music, but it is commonly understood that recording began in 1902 after the advent of the disc that is played on the gramophone. However, we have found wax cylinders dating back to 1899, and these are played on a phonogram." He bought the phono from a shop in Chor Bazaar. The officer's quest for old discs began two decades at roadside stalls. He sourced a few cylinders from private collectors over the years, and began documenting the ones he had for a book. Then, as if by divine hand, last December he chanced upon a cache of 200 cylinders at a kabadiwallah (scrap dealer's) stall. "I will not say where the shop is located or how much I paid. But it wasn't much because few people know the actual worth of these cylinders. In fact, the kabadiwallah thought they were textile rolls. This turned out to be the biggest treasure of the earliest and rarest Indian recordings. We were fortunate that the name of the singer and the year of recording was inscribed upon a few," he says. Some cylinders were wrapped in cotton. Sharma, his wife Abha and daughter Anukriti sat down to clean each one with a brush, taking care to not use any chemical since that could damage the soft wax. Reacting to the find, vocalist Kishori Amonkar, a doyen of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana told TOI, "I am interested to hear the recording to identify if it is indeed Ustad Alladiya Khan. My mother (Moghubai Kurdikar) was his disciple, so I can tell his style right away. I do know that the Maharaja of Kolhapur Shahu Maharaj had recorded Ustadji on a 'bangle', and if this is indeed the original it is extraordinary. But I have been disappointed before. I was in Rotterdam once, and someone offered to play me a recording of Ustadji. I heard it and knew at once it wasn't him." Sharma has t rans fe r red the recordings to a CD and is willing to put them to the test.Source: Times of India

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September 201416

Delhi High Court approves penalty for obstruction of information by wrong transfer

of RTI application u/s 6(3)

Deliberate and malafide transfer of RTI application to the wrong authority is one of the main techniques used by the CPIOs to delay and deny the information, while most of the information is held in the same organization. The Hon'ble Delhi High Court in its recent judgment in the case of Ministry of Railways v. Girish Mittal, has now blocked this escape route of the CPIOs by rejecting the plea of the CPIO that he is not liable for penal action when he has forwarded the reques t for information to the different Deptt. u/s 6(3) of the RTI Act. The Delhi High Court while

upholding the penalty of Rs. 25,000/- on the CPIO, held that when the information is available within the organization, the CPIO cannot transfer the RTI application to another public authority, but should arrange and secure in format ion f rom i t s own organization and CPIO cannot escape his responsibility to provide the information by simply stating that the RTI queries were forwarded to other publ ic authorities. The Delhi High Court has also held that CIC can impose penalty at the time of deciding an appeal or while disposing off the complaint.

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As RTT enters its sixth year, I sincerely thank our esteemed readers and contributors for making the journey eventful and on achieving this milestone.A K Banerjee, Editor.

Remembrance

Shri Rajiv DubeyInspector of Customs and

Central Excise

(July 15, 1960 Sept 2, 1989)

An excellent friend andsuperb human being who will alwaysremain

in our hearts.

D.K. Bose, Director & Working President of Hindustan Football Club presenting

memento to ALESSANDRO DEL PIERO, famous Italian footballer &a member

of Delhi Dynamos team.

Printed, Published & Owned by: Printed at : Published at: A K Banerjee Metro Press, B-49, Lawrence Road Industrial Area, Delhi-35 S-6, Second Floor, Pankaj Plaza, 7, MLU Pocket-VII, Sector-12, Dwarka, New Delhi-110075 A K Banerjee thertt2010@gmail.com, akkbanerjee@yahoo.co.in +91-9873508944, 9312946781 : Raju Dudani, Editor: E-mail: Telephone nos.: Legal advisors Dr. G.K. Sarkar & Ajayveer Singh Jain *All disputes will be subject to the jurisdiction of the Delhi court *Metro Press is not responsible for any content of this newspaper (RNI Regd. No. : DELENG/2009/29517)

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