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The Excises and Salt Act, 1944

( ACT NO. I OF 1944 )

[ 24th February, 1944 ]

Chapter VI

1ADJUDICATION OF [CASE]

Power of adjudication
33. Where by the rules made under this Act 2[in case] anything is liable to confiscation or any person is liable to a penalty, such 3[case] may be adjudged-
 
 
 
 
(a) without limit, by a 4[ 5[Commissioner] of Excise];
 
 
6[(b) subject to such limitations and conditions as the Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, determine from time to time, by an 7[Additional Commissioner] of Excise, a 8[Joint Commissioner] of Excise, a 9[Deputy Commissioner] of Excise, an 10[Assistant Commissioner] of Excise or a Superintendent of Excise.]
Option to pay fine in lieu of confiscation
34. Wherever confiscation is adjudged under this Act or the rules made thereunder, the officer adjudging it 11[may] give the owner of the goods an option to pay in lieu of confiscation such fine as the officer thinks fit in addition to any duty and other charges due in respect of the goods.
Confiscation of containers and conveyance
12[34A. Where under this Act or the rules made thereunder any goods are liable to confiscation, then the receptacles, packages or coverings in which such goods are contained and the animals, vehicles, vessels, or other conveyances on which the goods are loaded or which are used in carrying the goods shall also be liable to confiscation.]
Appeals
35. 13[(1) Any person aggrieved by any decision or order, other than an order of attachment and sale under section 11, passed by an Excise Officer under this Act or the rules made thereunder may, within three months from the date of such decision or order, appeal therefrom:-
 
 
 
 
(a) where the decision or order has been passed by an Excise Officer not superior in rank to an Additional Commissioner of Excise, to the Commissioner (Appeal); and
 
 
(b) where the decision or order has been passed by a Commissioner of Excise, Commissioner (Appeal) or an Excise Officer of equivalent rank, to the Appellate Tribunal constituted under section 196 of the Customs Act, hereinafter referred to as the Appellate Tribunal.
 
 
 
 
(1A) Upon receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1),-
 
 
 
 
(a) if the appeal has been preferred to the Commissioner (Appeal), the Commissioner (Appeal) may make such further enquiry and pass such order as he thinks fit, confirming, altering or annulling the decision or order appealed against:
 
 
 
 
Provided that no order imposing or enhancing any penalty or fine or requiring payment of a greater amount of duty than has been adjudged in the decision or order appealed against shall be passed by the appellate authority unless the person affected has been given an opportunity of showing cause against it and of being heard:
 
 
 
 
Provided further that the appellate authority may admit an appeal after the expiration of the aforesaid period, not exceeding two months from the date of such expiration, if he is satisfied that the appellant has sufficient cause for not preferring it within that period;
 
 
 
 
(b) if the appeal has been preferred to the Appellate Tribunal, the Appellate Tribunal shall, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, dispose of the appeal, as far as practicable, in accordance with the provisions relating to the said Tribunal.]
 
 
 
 
14[(1B)] Any person desirous of appealing under sub-section (1) against any decision or order relating to any duty demanded in respect of 15[services or of] goods which have ceased to be under 16[Excise] control, or to any penalty levied under the Act or the rules made thereunder, shall, pending the appeal, deposit the duty demanded or the penalty levied or both such duty and such penalty:
 
 
Provided the where, in any particular case, the appellate authority is of the opinion that deposit of duty demanded or penalty levied will cause undue hardship to the appellant, it may dispense with such deposit, either unconditionally or on such conditions as it may deem fit to impose.
 
 
 
 
(2) No appeal under sub-section (1) shall lie in any case after the 17[Board] has initiated any proceedings under section 35A in respect of such case.
 
 
 
 
18[(3) Every appeal which is pending immediately before the appointed day before the Board under section 35 of this Act, as it stood immediately before that day, and any matter arising out of or connected with such appeal and which is so pending shall stand transferred on that day to the Appellate Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal will dispose of such appeal or matter, as par as practicable, in accordance with the provisions laid down in section 196J of the Customs Act.
 
 
 
 
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, an appeal under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to have been allowed if the appellate authority fails to make a decision or order thereon within a period of six months from the date the appeal was preferred.
 
 
 
 
Explanation.- For the purposes of this section, “appointed day” means the 1st day of October, 1995.]
Power of the Board on departmental proceedings
19[35A. (1) The 20[Board] may of its own motion call for and examine the record of any departmental proceedings under this Act or the rules made thereunder for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the legality or propriety of any decision or order passed therein by an officer subordinate to the Board and may pass such order as it thinks fit:
 
 
Provided that no order imposing or enhancing any penalty or fine or requiring payment of a greater amount of duty shall be passed by the Board unless the person affected by the proposed order has been given an opportunity of showing cause against it and of being heard.
 
 
 
 
(2) No decision or order shall be revised under this section after the expiry of three years from the date of such decision or order.]
 
 
 
 
(3) No proceeding under sub-section (1) shall be initiated in a case where an appeal under sub-section (1) of section 35 is pending except after the disposal of such appeal.
Power of the 21[Board] to rectify mistakes
22[35B. (1) The 23[Board] may rectify any mistake which is apparent from the record in any order passed by it under any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder on its own motion or on an application made by a person affected by the order within one year of the passing of such order:
 
 
 
 
Provided that no such rectification which has the effect of enhancing any penalty or fine or requiring the payment of a greater amount of duty shall be made unless the person affected by the proposed rectification has been given an opportunity of being heard.
 
 
 
 
(2) No order under this section shall be passed after the expiry of three years from the date of passing of the order which is sought to be rectified.
 
 
 
 
(3) No proceedings under sub-section (1) shall be initiated in a case where an application under section 36 has been made, and, where any such application is pending, the proceeding so initiated shall abate.]
Power to write off sums due to Government
24[36C. When under this Act or the rules made thereunder a duty or any other money is payable to the Government by any person or a penalty is adjudged against any person and such duty, penalty or other sum has not been paid within the time it was required to be paid and the sum could not be recovered nor is recoverable from such person in the manner provided in section 11 due to bankruptcy or untraceability of such person or for any other reason, the Government may write-off such duty, penalty or other sum, wholly or partially as it deems fit.]
 
 
Revision by Government
36. The Government may on the application of any person aggrieved by any decision or order passed under section 35 or 35A 25[or 35B], if such application is made within a period of one hundred and twenty days from the date of the decision or order, pass such order in relation thereto as it thinks fit:
 
 
 
 
Provided that no order imposing or enhancing any penalty or fine or requiring payment of a greater amount of duty than has been determined in the decision or order in respect of which the application has been made shall be passed unless the person affected has been given an opportunity of showing cause against it and of being heard 26[:
 
 
 
 
Provided further that the Government may admit an application after the expiration of the aforesaid period, not exceeding one hundred and twenty days from the date of such expiration, if the Government is satisfied that the appellant has sufficient cause for not presenting the application within that period.]
Appearance by authorised representative
27[36A. (1) Any person who is entitled or required to attend before any excise officer, an appellate authority, Standing Tribunal, the 28[Board], or the Government in any proceedings under this Act, or any rules made thereunder otherwise than when required, under law to attend personally, may attend in such proceedings by a person authorised by him in writing in this behalf, being a relative of, or a person regularly employed by, the aggrieved person, or a lawyer who is entitled to plead in any Court of Law, or an excise consultant as defined and licensed under rules prescribed in this behalf, and not being disqualified by or under sub-section (2).
 
 
(2) No person who has been dismissed from Government service shall be qualified to represent a person under sub-section (1); and if any lawyer or excise consultant is found guilty of misconduct in connection with any excise proceedings by the authority empowered to take disciplinary action against members of the profession to which he belongs, or if any other person is found guilty of such misconduct by the 29[Commissioner] of Excise, the 30[Commissioner] of Excise may direct that he shall be thenceforward disqualified to represent a person under sub-section (1):
 
 
 
 
Provided that-
 
 
 
 
(a) no such direction shall be issued in respect of any person unless he is given a reasonable opportunity of being heard,
 
 
 
 
(b) any person against whom such direction is issued may, within one month from the date of receipt of the direction, appeal to the 31[Board] to have the direction cancelled, and
 
 
 
 
(c) no such direction shall take effect until one month from the date of receipt thereof by the person concerned, or when an appeal is preferred, until the disposal of the appeal.]
Power of the Government to rectify mistakes
32[36B. (1) The Government may rectify any mistake which is apparent from the record in any order passed by it under any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder on its own motion or on an application made by a person affected by the order within one year of the passing of such order:
 
 
 
 
Provided that no such rectification which has the effect of enhancing any penalty or fine or requiring the payment of a greater amount of duty shall be made unless the person affected by the proposed rectification has been given an opportunity of being heard.
 
 
(2) No order under this section shall be passed after the expiry of three years from the date of the passing of the order which is sought to be rectified.]
  • 1
    The word “case” was substituted for the words “confiscation and penalty” by section 3 of the Finance (1971-72) Order, 1972 (President’s Order No. 52 of 1972).
  • 2
    The words “in case” were inserted by section 3 of the Finance (1971-72) Order, 1972 (President’s Order No. 52 of 1972)
  • 3
    The word “case” was substituted for the words “confiscation and penalty” by section 3 of the Finance (1971-72) Order, 1972 (President’s Order No. 52 of 1972)
  • 4
    The words “Collector of Excise” were substituted for the words “Collector of Central Excise” by section 4 of the Finance Act (Act No. III of 1975)
  • 5
    The word “Commissioner” was substituted for the word “Collector” by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1995 (Act No. XII of 1995)
  • 6
    Clause (b) was substituted by section 5 of the Finance Act, 1980 (Act No. XXIII of 1980)
  • 7
    The words “Additional Commissioner” were substituted for the words “Additional Collector” by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1995 (Act No. XII of 1995)
  • 8
    The words “Joint Commissioner” were substituted for the words “Joint Collector” by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1995 (Act No. XII of 1995)
  • 9
    The words “Deputy Commissioner” were substituted for the words “Deputy Collector” by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1995 (Act No. XII of 1995)
  • 10
    The words “Assistant Commissioner” were substituted for the words “Assistant Collector” by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1995 (Act No. XII of 1995)
  • 11
    The word “may” was substituted for the word “shall” by section 6 of the Finance Ordinance, 1978 (Ordinance No. XXI of 1978)
  • 12
    Section 34A was inserted by section 5 of the Finance Act, 1968 (Act No. XI of 1968)
  • 13
    Sub-section (1) and sub-section (1A) were substituted for the former sub-section (1) by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1995 (Act No. XII of 1995)
  • 14
    Sub-section (1A) was renumbered as (1B) by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1995 (Act No. XII of 1995)
  • 15
    The words “services or of” were inserted by section 5 of the Finance Ordinance , 1986 (Ordinance No. XLV of 1986)
  • 16
    The word “Excise” were substituted for the words “Central Excise” by section 8 the Excises and Salt (Amendment) Ordinance, 1978 (Ordinance No. XII of 1978)
  • 17
    The word “Board” was substituted for the words “National Board of Revenue” by section 5 of the Finance Act, 1979 (Act No. V of 1979)
  • 18
    Sub-sections (3) and (4) were inserted by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1995 (Act No. XII of 1995)
  • 19
    Section 35A was inserted by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1966 (Act No. XI of 1966)
  • 20
    The word “Board” was substituted for the words “National Board of Revenue” by section 5 of the Finance Act, 1979 (Act No. V of 1979)
  • 21
    The word “Board” was substituted for the words “National Board of Revenue” by section 5 of the Finance Act, 1979 (Act No. V of 1979)
  • 22
    Section 35B was inserted by section 9 of the Finance Ordinace, 1978 (Ordinance No. XXI of 1978)
  • 23
    The word “Board” was substituted for the words “National Board of Revenue” by section 5 of the Finance Act, 1979 (Act No. V of 1979)
  • 24
    Section 36C was inserted by section 2 of the Finance Act,1996 (Act No. XVIII of 1996)
  • 25
    The words “or 35B” were inserted by section 9 of the Finance Ordinace, 1978 (Ordinance No. XXI of 1978)
  • 26
    The colon (:) was substituted for the full-stop (.) and thereafter the proviso was added by section 9 of the Finance Ordinance, 1977 (Ordinance No. XXIII of 1977)
  • 27
    Section 36A was inserted by section 9 of the Finance Ordinance, 1977 (Ordinance No. XXIII of 1977)
  • 28
    The word “Board” was substituted for the words “National Board of Revenue” by section 5 of the Finance Act, 1979 (Act No. V of 1979)
  • 29
    The word “Commissioner” was substituted for the word “Collector ” by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1995 (Act No. XII of 1995)
  • 30
    The word “Commissioner” was substituted for the word “Collector ” by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1995 (Act No. XII of 1995)
  • 31
    The word “Board” was substituted for the words “National Board of Revenue” by section 5 of the Finance Act, 1979 (Act No. V of 1979)
  • 32
    Section 36B was inserted by section 9 of the Finance Ordinance, 1977 (Ordinance No. XXIII of 1977)
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