Notification No. 45/2018-Customs (NT.) Dated 24/05/2018
Customs Audit Regulations, 2018-
G.S.R.-(E). - In exercise of the
powers conferred by clause (k) of section 157, read with section 99A and clause
(ii) of sub-section (2) of section 158, of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962)
and in supersession of the On-site Post Clearance Audit at the Premises of
Importers and Exporters Regulation, 2011, except as respect things done or
omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes
and Customs hereby makes the following regulations, namely:-
1. Short title and commencement. - (1) These regulations may be called the
Customs Audit Regulations, 2018.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their
publication in the Official Gazette.
2. Definitions. - In these
regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, -
(a) "Act" means the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962);
(b) "audit" includes examination or verification of
declaration, record, entry, document, import or export licence, authorisation,
scrip, certificate, permission etc., books of account, test or analysis reports,
and any other document relating to imported goods or export goods or dutiable
goods, and may include inspection of sample and goods, if such sample or goods
are available and where necessary, drawl of samples;
(c) "auditee" means a person who is subject to an
audit under section 99A of the Act and includes an importer or exporter or
custodian approved under section 45 or licensee of a warehouse and any other
person concerned directly or indirectly in clearing, forwarding, stocking,
carrying, selling or purchasing of imported goods or export goods or dutiable
goods;
(d) "audit report" includes the audit findings in the
report prepared after the audit containing details about objections raised by
the proper officer and explanation given by the auditee, if any;
(e) "books of account" includes ledgers, day-books,
cash books, account-books, other accounts related record whether kept in written
or printed form or stored electronically;
(f) "electronic records" means data or record stored
in any form and manner relevant for the purpose of Audit under section 99A of
the Act;
(g) "premises" includes the registered office, branch
office, warehouse, factory, or any other premises at which, imported goods or
export goods or dutiable goods or books of account or records of transaction or
other related documents, in relation to the said goods are ordinarily kept, for
any purpose by an auditee.
(h) Words and expressions used and not defined herein but
defined in the Act, shall have the same meaning respectively, assigned to them
in the Act.
3. Auditee to preserve and
make available relevant documents.- (1)The auditee shall preserve and on
request by the proper officer make available in a timely manner, for the
purposes of audit, true and correct information, records including
electronic records, documents or accounts maintained in compliance of the
provisions of the Act, rule or regulations, made there under or any other law
for the time being in force, maintained for a minimum period of five years in
relation to imported goods or export goods or dutiable goods.
(2) The auditee shall render assistance to the proper officer
and his team of officers in the discharge of their official duty and shall in no
case refuse or obstruct the proper officer or his team of officers in discharge
of their official duty.
4. Selection for Audit. - The selection of auditee or the selection of
import declarations or export declarations, as the case may be, for the purposes
of audit shall primarily be based on risk evaluation through appropriate
selectivity criteria.
5. Manner of conducting audit. - (1) The proper officer may conduct audit
either in his office or in certain cases at the premises of an auditee.
(2) The proper officer may, where considered necessary,
request the auditee to furnish documents, information or record including
electronic record, as may be relevant to audit.
(3) The proper officer shall give not less than fifteen days
advance notice to the auditee to conduct audit at the premises of the auditee.
(4) The proper officer may, where considered necessary,
inspect the imported goods or export goods or dutiable goods at the premises of
the auditee or request the auditee to produce sample, if available, with him.
(5) The proper officer shall inform the auditee of the
objections, if any, before preparing the audit report to provide him an
opportunity to offer clarifications with supporting documents.
(6) Where the auditee is in agreement with the audit
findings, he may make voluntary payments of duty, interest or other sums, due,
if any, in part or in full and the proper officer shall record the same in the
audit report.
(7) Where the proper office has asked the auditee to furnish
information, document, record or sample for the purposes of audit, it shall be
mandatory for the proper officer to inform outcome of such audit to the auditee.
(8) The proper officer shall complete audit in cases where it
is conducted at the premises of the auditee within thirty days from the date of
starting of the audit:
Provided that the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs may extend the period
of completion of audit from thirty days to sixty days, by an order in writing.
6. Assistance of professionals. - (1) If the proper officer, having
regard to the nature and complexity of the audit, is of the opinion that the
audit has to be done with the assistance of a professional like Chartered
Accountant, Cost Accountant, an expert in the field of computer sciences or
information technology etc., may do so, with the previous approval of the
Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of Customs.
7. Penalty. - Any auditee, who contravenes any provision of these
regulations or abets such contravention or fails to comply with any provision of
these regulations with which it was his duty to comply, shall be liable to a
penalty which may extend to fifty thousand Indian rupees.
[F.No. 450/100/2017-Cus. -IV (Part-A)]
(Zubair Raiz)
Director (Customs)