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THE CENTRAL EXCISE ACT, 1944 [Act No. 1 of 1944] |
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An Act to consolidate and
amend the law relating to Central Duties of Excise |
[24th February, 1944]
CHAPTER III
POWERS AND DUTIES OF
OFFICERS AND LANDHOLDERS
SECTION 12E. Powers of Central Excise Officers. — (1) A Central Excise Officer may exercise the
powers and discharge the duties conferred or imposed under this Act on any
other Central Excise Officer who is subordinate to him.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section
(1), the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) shall not exercise the powers
and discharge the duties conferred or imposed on a Central Excise Officer other
than those specified in section 14 or Chapter VIA.
SECTION 12F. Power of search and seizure.— (1) Where the Joint Commissioner of Central
Excise or Additional Commissioner of Central Excise has reasons to believe that
any documents or books or things, which in his opinion shall be useful for or
relevant to any proceedings under this Act, are secreted in any place, he may
authorise in writing any Central Excise Officer to search and seize or may
himself search and seize such documents or books or things.
(2) The
provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) relating to search
and seizure, shall, so far as may be, apply to search and seizure under this
section as they apply to search and seizure under that Code.
SECTION 13. Power to arrest. —
(1) Any Central Excise Officer not below the rank
of Inspector of Central Excise may, with prior approval of the Commissioner of
Central Excise, arrest any person whom he has reason to believe to be liable to
punishment under this Act or the rules made thereunder.
SECTION 14. Power to summon persons to give evidence and
produce documents in inquiries under this Act. —
(1) Any Central Excise Officer duly empowered
by the Central Government in this behalf, shall have power to summon any person
whose attendance he considers necessary either to give evidence or to produce a
document or any other thing in any inquiry which such officer is making for any
of the purposes of this Act. A summons to produce documents or other things may
be for the production of certain specified documents or things or for the
production of all documents or things of a certain description in the
possession or under the control of the person summoned.
(2) All persons so summoned shall be bound to
attend, either in person or by an authorised agent,
as such officer may direct; and all persons so summoned shall be bound to state
the truth upon any subject respecting which they are examined or make
statements and to produce such documents and other things as may be required:
Provided that the exemptions under Sections 132 and
133 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) shall be applicable to
requisitions for attendance under this section.
(3) Every such inquiry as aforesaid shall be
deemed to be a “judicial proceeding” within the meaning of Section 193 and
Section 228 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860).
SECTION 14A. Special audit in certain cases. —
(1) If
at any stage of enquiry, investigation or any other proceedings before him, any
Central Excise Officer not below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner of
Central Excise, or Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise having regard to the
nature and complexity of the case and the interest of revenue, is of the
opinion that the value has not been correctly declared or determined by a
manufacturer or any person, he may, with the previous approval of the Chief
Commissioner of Central Excise, direct such manufacturer or such person to get
the accounts of his factory, office, depots, distributors or any other place,
as may be specified by the said Central Excise Officer, audited by a cost
accountant or Chartered accountant,
nominated by the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise in this behalf.
(2)
The cost accountant or Chartered accountant, so nominated shall, within
the period specified by the Central Excise Officer, submit a report of such
audit duly signed and certified by him to the said Central Excise Officer
mentioning therein such other particulars as may be specified:
Provided that the Central Excise Officer may, on an
application made to him in this behalf by the manufacturer or the person and
for any material and sufficient reason, extend the said
period by such further period or periods as he thinks fit; so, however, that
the aggregate of the period originally fixed and the period or periods so
extended shall not, in any case, exceed one hundred and eighty days from the
date on which the direction under sub-section (1) is received by the
manufacturer or the person.
(3) The
provisions of sub-section (1) shall have effect notwithstanding that the
accounts of the manufacturer or person aforesaid have been audited under any
other law for the time being in force or otherwise.
(4) Omitted
(5)
The manufacturer or the person shall be given an opportunity of being
heard in respect of any material gathered on the basis of audit under
sub-section (1) and proposed to be utilised in any
proceedings under this Act or rules made thereunder.
Explanation. 1 - For the purpose of this section, “cost accountant” shall have the
meaning assigned to it in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 2 of the
Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 (23 of 1959).
Explanation.2 – For the purpose of this
section, “chartered accountant” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause
(b) of sub-section (1) of Section 2 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (38
of 1949).
SECTION 14AA. Special audit in cases where credit
of duty availed or utilised is not within the normal limits,
etc. —
(1) If the Commissioner of Central Excise has
reason to believe that the credit of duty availed of or utilised
under the rules made under this Act by a manufacturer of any excisable goods -
(a) is
not within the normal limits having regard to the nature of the excisable goods
produced or manufactured, the type of inputs used and other relevant factors,
as he may deem appropriate;
(b) has been availed of or utilised by
reason of fraud, collusion or any wilful mis-statement or suppression of facts,
he may
direct such manufacturer to get the accounts of his factory, office, depot,
distributor or any other place, as may be specified by him, audited by a cost
accountant or Chartered accountant nominated by him.
(2) The cost accountant or Chartered
accountant so nominated shall, within the period specified by the Commissioner
of Central Excise, submit a report of such audit duly signed and certified by
him to the said Commissioner mentioning therein such other particulars as may
be specified.
(3) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall
have effect notwithstanding that the accounts of the said manufacturer
aforesaid have been audited under any other law for the time being in force or
otherwise.
(4) Omitted
(5) The manufacturer shall be given an
opportunity of being heard in respect of any material gathered on the basis of
the audit under sub-section (1) and proposed to be utilised
in any proceeding under this Act or rules made thereunder.
Explanation- 1 — For the purpose of this section, “cost accountant” shall have the
meaning assigned to it in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the
Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 (23 of 1959).]
Explanation.2 – For the purpose of this
section, “chartered accountant” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause
(b) of sub-section (1) of Section 2 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (38
of 1949).
SECTION 15. Officers required to assist
Central Excise Officers. — All officers of Police and Customs and all officers of Government engaged
in the collection of land revenue, and all village officers are hereby
empowered and required to assist the Central Excise Officers in the
execution of this Act.
SECTION 16. Omitted
SECTION 17. Omitted
SECTION 18. Searches and arrests how to be made. — All searches made under this Act or any rules
made thereunder and all arrests made under this Act
shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), relating respectively to searches and arrests made
under that Code.
SECTION 19. Disposal of persons arrested. — Every person arrested under this Act shall be
forwarded without delay to the nearest Central Excise Officer empowered to send
persons so arrested to a Magistrate, or, if there is no such Central Excise
Officer within a reasonable distance, to the officer-in-charge of the nearest
police station.
SECTION 20. Procedure to be followed by officer-in-charge of
police station.— The
officer-in-charge of a police station to whom any person is forwarded under
section 19 shall either admit him to bail to appear before the Magistrate
having jurisdiction, or in default of bail forward him in custody to such
Magistrate.
SECTION 21. Inquiry how to be made by Central Excise Officers
against arrested persons forwarded to them under section 19. —
(1) When any person is forwarded under
section 19 to a Central Excise Officer empowered to send persons so arrested to
a Magistrate, the Central Excise Officer shall proceed to enquire into the
charge against him.
(2) For this purpose the Central Excise
Officer may exercise the same powers and shall be subject to the same
provisions as the officer-in-charge of a police station may exercise and is
subject to under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898),
when investigating a cognizable case:
Provided that —
(a) if the Central Excise Officer is of opinion that
there is sufficient evidence or reasonable ground of suspicion against the accused
person, he shall either admit him to bail to appear before a Magistrate having
jurisdiction in the case, or forward him in custody to such Magistrate;
(b) if it appears to
the Central Excise Officer
that there is not sufficient evidence or
reasonable ground of suspicion against the accused person, he shall release the
accused person on his executing a bond, with or without sureties as the Central
Excise Officer may direct, to appear, if and when so required, before the
Magistrate having jurisdiction, and shall make a full report of all the
particulars of the case to his official superior.
SECTION 22. Vexatious search, seizure, etc., by
Central Excise Officer. — Any Central Excise or other officer exercising powers under this Act or
under the rules made thereunder who —
a) without reasonable ground of suspicion
searches or causes to be searched any house, boat or place;
b) vexatiously and unnecessarily
detains, searches or arrests any person;
c) vexatiously and unnecessarily
seizes the movable property of any person, on pretence of seizing or searching
for any article liable to confiscation under this Act;
d) commits, as
such officer, any other act to the injury of any person, without having reason
to believe that such act is required for the execution of his duty;
shall, for every such offence, be punishable with
fine which may extend to two thousand rupees.
Any person wilfully and maliciously giving false information and so
causing an arrest or a search to be made under this Act shall be punishable
with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to two years or with both.
SECTION 23. Failure of Central Excise Officer in duty. — Any Central Excise Officer who ceases or
refuses to perform or withdraws himself from the duties of his office, unless
he has obtained the express written permission of the Commissioner of Central
Excise, or has given to his superior officer two months’ notice in writing of
his intention or has other lawful excuse, shall on conviction before a
Magistrate be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three
months, or with fine which may extend to three months’ pay, or with both.
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