NRIs – Baggage Rules - Arrest Limit increased in case of
outright smuggling or mis-declaration of baggage
(8th
Aug,2015 ) Passengers entering India will now have to declare Indian currency
exceeding Rs 25,000 and LCD, LED or plasma televisions being brought by them in
the new customs declaration forms. According to the new rules, the duty free
allowance on cigarettes, cigars and tobacco has been reduced by 50 per cent. Also,
passengers of Indian-origin and foreigners of over 10 years of age residing in
India and coming from any country other than China, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar
can bring goods worth Rs 45,000 along with them. Earlier, this limit was Rs
35,000. All flyers coming to India will need to declare Indian currency
exceeding Rs 25,000, said the Customs Baggage Declaration (Amendment)
Regulations, 2015, notified by the Finance Ministry. Earlier, they were
supposed to declare any amount exceeding Rs 10,000 being brought by them. An
additional field has also been inserted in the ‘Indian Customs Declaration
Form’, which needs to be filled by all passengers entering India, to declare
any flat panel (LCD, LED or plasma) televisions being brought by them.
The
form presently has fields for declaration of dutiable and prohibited goods,
gold jewellery and bullion (over free allowance), satellite phone and foreign
currency notes exceeding USD 5,000 or equivalent. The passengers also need to
mention about meat, meat products, fish, dairy and poultry products, seeds,
plants, fruits, flowers, other planting material and aggregate value of foreign
exchange, including currency exceeding USD 10,000 or equivalent in the existing
customs form.
Central Board of
Excise and Customs revises limit for arrest and prosecution substantially
upwards ; In cases of outright smuggling or mis-declaration of baggage, the
limits regarding value of offending goods have been revised from Rs. 5 lakh to
Rs. 20 lakh among others
Persons involved in
serious offences of tax evasion are liable for arrest and prosecution under the
Central Excise Act, 1994, Finance Act, 1994 dealing with Service Tax and
Customs Act, 1962. Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has issued
instructions from time to time prescribing the procedures, safeguards and
threshold limits above which these powers are to be exercised with discretion
and responsibility. CBEC has now issued fresh instructions today rescinding the
past circulars and consolidating them at one place with following
objectives. Circular No.
1009/16/2015-CX Dated- 23.10.2015
The monetary limits
for arrest and prosecution have been revised substantially upwards to
ensure that these powers are not used against small and medium businesses.
Thus the limits in
case of offence of evasion of tax or wrongful utilization of input tax credit
in case of Central Excise and Service tax have been revised to Rs.1 crore from
Rs. 25 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh respectively. Circular
No. 1010/17/2015-CX Dated- 23.10.2015
In case of evasion of tax under the Customs
Act, the limits have been revised to Rs. 1 crore from Rs. 10 lakh in case of
evasion of tax by wrongful availment of exemption or duty drawback. Similar,
revisions regarding value of goods have been carried-out regarding appraisement
of tax during import or export.
In cases of outright smuggling or
mis-declaration of baggage, the limits regarding value of offending goods have
been revised from Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh. As in the past, there shall be no
lower limit for arrest and prosecution in the cases of smuggling of fake Indian
currency notes, arms, ammunitions and explosives and endangered species.
The procedure to be followed for arrest and
sanction of prosecution has been revised and specified with adequate safeguards
in these instructions to ensure that only in cases of serious nature above the
revised thresholds, where there is strong prima-facie evidence, these powers
are exercised
Note: This is just for information please avoid smuggling
and mid-declaration of baggage when you travel to India and respect and obey customs
rule