The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has enhanced the powers of the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation Inland Revenue to allow intelligence officials to have free access to premises, equipment, stocks and accounts relating to excisable goods and excisable services. On Friday, the FBR amended SRO777(I)/2011 through SRO128(I)/2012 to empower the agency's officials to exercise enforcement powers of the federal excise law during investigation of cases.
Through this amendment, the officials of the Directorate General I&I IR would be able to smoothly conduct investigation in cases of evasion of federal excise duty being committed by manufactures of excisable commodities The FBR empowered the Director General I&I IR; Additional Directors; Deputy Directors/Assistant Directors, Superintendents, Deputy Superintendents and intelligence officers of I&I IR to exercise powers of entry and search of any building to check non-payment of excise duty.
Any officer authorised in writing by the Collector in this behalf, shall have free access at all times to any premises and to any place where excisable goods are processed, stored, sold or manufactured, or where excisable services are provided or rendered and may inspect the building, the plant, the machinery, and stocks and accounts. They have also been authorised to check records of goods stocked, or removed from the factory or their transfer within a factory.
The FBR also empowered the agency officials to stop and search any vessel, cart or other means of conveyance for excisable goods, and seize and remove or detain any goods on which duty had not been levied or any contravention of the provisions of the Federal Excise Act or these rules has occurred. They can exercise all such powers and authority for the search, examination, removal, seizure, detention and confiscation of any vessel, cart, or other means of conveyance, or any goods liable to confiscation under the Federal Excise Act or these rules, as are, or may be, conferred on the like officer of Federal Excise.
The Board has allowed the agency's officials to enter and search building, enclosed place, premises, or other place upon or in which he has reason to believe that excisable goods are being processed, sorted, stored, manufactured or excisable services are provided or rendered in contravention of the provisions of the Federal Excise Act.
When anything is confiscated, the officer adjudging confiscation shall take and hold possession of the confiscated material, and every officer of Federal excise or of police, on the requisition of agency's officer, shall assist him in taking and holding such possession. The articles of which confiscation has been adjudged and in respect of which the option of paying a penalty in lieu of confiscation has not been exercised, shall be sold, destroyed or otherwise disposed of in such manner as the Collector may direct, sources said.
In cases where any plant or machinery is being used for the manufacture or production of counterfeit goods, such plant or machinery shall be seized by the authorised officer of Federal excise not below the rank of Additional Collector. This power can be exercised by the Director General I&I IR and his subordinate officers. The plant and machinery seized shall be liable to outright confiscation and destroyed in such manner as may be approved by the Collector subject to the law, sources added.
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