Date:01/01/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/01/01/stories/2006010102890300.htm

Back New scheme for compounding of excise, customs offences

Our Bureau

New Delhi , Dec. 31

IN an effort to prevent litigation and encourage early settlement of disputes, the Finance Ministry has introduced the facility of compounding of Central excise and customs offences.

For this purpose, the Centre has come up with the Customs and Central Excise (Compounding of Offences) Rules, 2005. Under these rules, chief commissioners have been empowered to offer compounding facility as an option before launching prosecution. This facility would, however, not be available for serious offences such as narcotics, arms, chemical weapons etc.

The Finance Ministry has put together a simple one-page application for making use of this compounding facility. The facility would also not be available to those persons who had in the past already exercised the option of compounding of an offence in respect of goods of value exceeding Rs 1 crore.

The chief commissioners have been empowered to compound offences before or after filing of the complaint subject to the general guidelines, an official release said.