What Government Does With Unsold Seized Assets From Various Central Agencies (image:x.com/dir_ed/)
New Delhi: The Central Government on Monday, December 2 informed Lok Sabha about the various steps regulating disposal of assets seized by various agencies like Enforcement Directorate (ED), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Income Tax Department. While answering questions raised by Rajkot MP Parshottam Khodabhai Rupala, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary gave details about the disposal of attached or seized assets.
Minister said that the Prevention of Money-laundering Act and the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Taking Possession of Attached or Frozen Properties Confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2013 deals with the provisions of disposal of certain type of confirmed attached or frozen movable properties that are prone to speedy and natural decay or the cost of keeping such properties which are likely to exceed its value, including property being mode of transfer and necessary steps as per these provisions are taken by the ED in appropriate cases.
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“The Section 110 (1A) of the Customs Act, 1962 authorizes Central Government to specify the goods or class of goods which the perishable or hazardous nature of any goods, depreciation in the value of the goods with the passage of time, constraints of storage space for the goods or any other relevant considerations to be disposed of after the seizure is affected,” Minister has said.
The Central Government had reported a total 21 class of goods including gold and gold jewellery, currency (Indian & Foreign), electronic goods, cellular phones, conveyance, and liquors that can be discarded immediately after it’s capture. The government is entitled to the exertion of the powers granted by the legislature in section 110 (1A). Consequently, the notified goods, including conveyance, are discharged immediately after its seizure following the procedure prescribed in the Disposal Manual, 2019 as well as Section 110(1B) of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
Similar facilities also exist in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) Act, 1985 section 52(A), the Minister has said. As per the act, the Central Government can inform “certain narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, controlled substances or conveyances on account of their hazardous nature, vulnerability to theft, substitution, constraint of proper storage space for there early disposal,” the Minister added.
In the same way, the section 110A of the Customs Act, 1962, also details arrangements in relation to provisional release of goods, documents and things seized pending verdict. These seized materials are subject to taking a bond and security as per the conditions directed by the adjudicating authority.
“The Section 28BA provides for provisional attachment of property belonging to the person on whom notice is served under sub-section (1) or sub-section (4) of section 28 or sub-section (3) of section 28AAA or sub-section (2) of section 28B, for protecting the interests of revenue with the previous approval of the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner. As regards to the confirmed demands, Section 142 of the Customs Act, 1962 provides for detaining and sale of the movable and immovable properties,” the Minister had added.
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Further, the Minister said that The Income Tax Department has systems in place for the recovery of tax dues through various methods. As per provisions laid in the Second Schedule of the Income-tax Act, 1961, Tax Recovery Officers undertakes the the attachment and sale of seized assets. Besides, as per the Act, stock-in-trade, found as a result of search, is not seized and any perishable goods are, usually, not seized. Also, the Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) discharges Office Memorandums (OMs) and other administrative guidelines from every now and then to the field formation for the realisation of tax dues through the timely sale of attached or seized assets.
