A high-powered Parliamentary panel has asked the Finance Ministry to devise more effective and stringent administrative measures to ensure speedy adjudication of revenue cases involving show cause notices (SCNs) for recovery of Central Excise duties.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) while analysing the progress on Demand Notices sent by various Central Excise Commissionerates across the country during 2001-02 to 2003-04 noted with concern that the problem of delay and pendency of adjudication cases persists despite the Revenue Department issuing circulars and instructions to improve the situation.

Audit review
The PAC noted that audit review of records of 154 adjudication branches in 79 out of 92 Commissionerates for the years 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 revealed that the number of SCNs issued were 41,496, 30,332 and 41,484 involving an amount of Rs 13,599.62 crore, Rs 15,094.04 crore and Rs 17,613.65 crore respectively.
It is a matter of concern that in spite of fixation of time limit in the statute, pendency not only continued but actually rose, it said.

Interestingly, the PAC has observed that adjudication officers are prone to postponing finalisation of demands by taking shelter under the clause ‘where it is possible to do so’. The committee finds this saving clause, which was inserted to be invoked under exceptional circumstances is being used at the slightest pretext.
The PAC also complained that Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) does not appear to monitor regularly the follow-ups to circulars and instructions being issued by the CBEC from time to time for speedy adjudication of SCNs.

Matters were allowed to drift and substantial revenue remained blocked and uncollected, it noted with concern. 
On perusal of the age-wise pendency of various adjudications cases, the PAC has noted that there is a general tendency on the part of the adjudicating officers to deal with low revenue cases at the cost of keeping high revenue cases pending.

As a result pendency of high revenue cases rose significantly.

Apprise PAC
While taking note of the Finance Ministry’s special drive for expeditious adjudication of cases involving high revenue cases, the Public Accounts Committee noted that it would like to be apprised about the results achieved so far.

In this context, it asked the Revenue Department to gear up its machinery for early disposal of high revenue cases even by constituting specially empowered cells for time-bound disposals.