Service Tax Circular No. 99/02/2008- ST dated
11.3.2008
Amendment to Circular No. 97/8/2007-ST dated the 23rd August, 2007 – Power of
adjudication of Central Excise Officers- instructions reg.
The undersigned is directed to refer to para 12.2 of the Circular
No. 97/8/2007-ST dated the 23rd August, 2007, which prescribes monetary
limits of Central Excise Officers at various levels for adjudicating of cases
under section 83A of the Finance Act, 1994, for adjudging a penalty under the
provisions of the said Act or the rules made there under.
2. In this regard, it has been brought to the notice of the Board that in many
Commissionerates, there is no officer of the rank of the Additional Commissioner
posted. This is leading to delay in adjudication of cases falling under the
monetary limit prescribed for Additional Commissioners. The matter has been
examined by the Board. It has been decided to enhance the monetary limit of
adjudication of cases by Joint Commissioners equal to that of Additional
Commissioners. Accordingly, S.No.(2) of Table below para 12.2 of the said
circular stand amended as follows:
| (1) | (2) | (3) |
| (2). | Joint Commissioner of Central Excise | Above Rs. 5 lakh but not exceeding Rs. 50 lakh |
3. Jurisdictional Commissioners of Central Excise may redistribute the pending
cases among Joint Commissioners/ Additional Commissioners posted in the
Commissionerate based on appropriate factors. It is further clarified that
notwithstanding this revision, in all cases, where the personal hearing has
already been completed, orders will be passed by the officer before whom the
hearing has been held. Such orders should normally be issued within a month of
the date of completion of the personal hearing. It may also be noted that the
age-wise pendency of cases as shown in MTR would be reflected based on the date
of issuance of Show Cause Notice, and not on the basis of transfer of cases to
the new Adjudicating Authority. The jurisdictional Commissioners should ensure
that the work regarding re-allocation of pending cases, issuance of corrigendum
to the Show Cause Notices, transfer of relevant files and records, etc., should
be completed within 15 days. A compliance report in this regard should be sent
to the zonal Chief Commissioner, who in turn, should submit a report to the
Board by 15.04.2008, certifying that all the work regarding re-allocation of
cases has been completed.
2. Trade and field formations may be informed accordingly.
3. Hindi version will follow.
Yours faithfully
(Gautam Bhattacharya)
Commissioner(Service Tax)
Central Board of Excise & Customs
F. No. 137/51/2008 – CX.4
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