SC Revives DRI’s Powers To Issue Customs Recovery Notices

Overturning its 2021 verdict, the Supreme Court of India (SC) has held that the officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have the power to issue notices for recovery of customs. In a big win for the Finance Ministry, the top court has potentially revived DRI notices worth Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 23,000 crore against 13 companies including Vedanta, Vodafone Idea and Adani Enterprises.

Back in 2021, the top court had stripped the power of DRI to issue notices to recover the customs dues. This led to the notices being quashed. The top court has held that DRI officers were notified as proper officers by the Centre. The judgement by the apex court has potentially revived DRI notices across 800 cases.

“Subject to the observations made in the judgment, the officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Commissionerates of Customs Preventive, Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence, and Commissionates of Central Excise and other similarly situated officers are ‘proper officers’ for the purposes of Section 28 of the Customs Act, and are competent to issue show-cause notices,” the top court held.

The DRI had issued the notices for the recovery of customs duties. The companies which received such notices to Vedanta, Vodafone Idea, Adani Enterprises, TVS Motor Company, Samsung India, Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing, BSNL, Daikin, Sony India, Canon, Nikon India, Sennheiser and Yakult Danone.

When the top court gave its ruling in 2021, the Centre filed a review petition and the Supreme Court, after hearing the review petition, reserved its judgement in September 2024. The judgement was on whether the powers under the Customs Act, 1962 can be conferred upon the DRI.