CUS CIR NO. 15/2016 DATE 03/05/2016

Instructions on monitoring of pendency in disbursal of rewards to informers- reg.
Kind reference is invited to Circular No. 20/2015 dated 31.7.2015. In this regard, Para 7.2 of the said Circular stipulated that Commissioners and Additional Directors General should set in place a suitable mechanism to monitor cases becoming ripe for disbursal of rewards and emphasized the need to review cases of reward to Government Servants and informers which have become ripe for processing by holding quarterly meetings. This was to ensure that rewards to informers are disbursed when due without any delay.

2. However, several complaints are being received regarding delay in disbursal of rewards to informers. The matter was discussed in the last Conference of Chief Commissioners of Customs/Directors General, held in January 2016 wherein, it was decided to inter-alia put in place a suitable mechanism in the field formations to monitor cases becoming ripe for disbursal of reward.

3. In this background, the Board has decided to prescribe the following procedure with regard to monitoring of pendency of disbursal of rewards.

3.1. Each Commissionerate in the field and each Zone in the Directorates of Revenue Intelligence and Central Excise Intelligence shall have a register in the format prescribed in the Annexure - I (Register of Rewards-Informers) for the purpose of maintaining a record in relation to the `information' filed through DRI I or AE-I. All the cases booked on or after 1.4.2005 where reward disbursal to informers is pending as on date of issue of this circular shall be entered into the said register. This exercise shall be completed within three months of issue of this Circular. Adequate care shall be taken not to leave or miss out any case while maintaining this record. It shall be the responsibility of the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner in charge of rewards in the respective formation to ensure and certify that all the pending cases have been entered into the register.

3.2. At the end of every month, an abstract of pendency in the format given at Annexure - II shall be prepared and entered in the register prescribed above. The abstract so prepared shall be certified by the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner in charge of rewards and put up to the Additional/ Joint Commissioners concerned for information.

3.3. The `Register of Rewards- Informers' shall be put up to the Principal Commissioners/Commissioners concerned once in six months (in the first weeks of October and April) for information.

3.4. A six monthly report in in this regard in the format prescribed at Annexure-III shall be submitted by 15th of April and 15th of October every year by:

i. all the Chief Commissioners of Customs to the Director General of Revenue Intelligence (DGRI) and

ii. all Chief Commissioners of Central Excise/Service Tax to the Director General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI).

The DGRI and DGCEI in turn along with the reports received from their respective Zonal Units shall maintain consolidated information for all formations of CBEC.

3.5. Adequate care shall be taken by the field formations to maintain confidentiality and to ensure that while building/maintaining the information, informers are not exposed at any cost. Even while submitting the six monthly reports, no case detail shall be given in such reports; only the pendency numbers shall be furnished.

4. The monitoring system as stipulated above shall be put in place immediately. All the Chief Commissioners are requested to send a compliance report to the Board [Commissioner (RI &I)] in the proforma given in Annexure IV by 31.05.2016 positively.

5. Hindi version follows.

F. No. 13012/08/2015-Cus (AS)

(M. G. Thamizh Valavan)
Director (Anti Smuggling)

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