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import, Board has issued two notifications, as follows :
I. Notification No. 50/2020-Customs (N.T.), dated 5-6-2020
implements Faceless Assessment across different Principal Chief
Commissioner/Chief Commissioner Zones. This notification
enables an assessing officer i.e., the proper officer under Sections
17 and 18 of the Customs Act, 1962, who is physically located in a
particular jurisdiction to assess a bill of entry pertaining to imports
made at a different Customs station/port of import, whenever such
a bill of entry has been assigned to him in the Customs Automated
System. However, it is clarified that in Phase 1 of the rollout of
Faceless Assessment, this notification will be applied only for
inter-linking of Bengaluru and Chennai Customs zones for this
purpose. Thus, w.e.f. 8th June, 2020 the Customs Automated
System will assign the non-facilitated bills of entry filed for
imports of articles primarily falling under Chapters 84 and 85 of
the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, at any of the Customs stations/ports
of import of Bengaluru and Chennai Customs Zones to the officers
of the concerned Faceless Assessment Group for assessment on a
first-cum-first basis. In other words, irrespective of whether the
goods are imported at any Customs station/port of import falling
under the jurisdiction of Bengaluru or Chennai Customs Zone, the
bills of entry pertaining to the said two chapters will be marked by
the Customs Automated System to the nominated Faceless
Assessment Group for assessment.
II. Notification No. 51/2020-Customs (N.T.), dated 5-6-2020 is issued
for the purpose of empowering the jurisdictional Commissioners
of Customs (Appeals) at Bengaluru and Chennai to take up
appeals filed in respect of Faceless Assessments pertaining to
imports made in their jurisdictions even though the assessing
officer may be located at the other Customs station.
To illustrate, Commissioners of Customs (Appeals) at Bengaluru would
decide appeals filed for imports at Bengaluru though the assessing officer may be
located at Chennai. This has been done to ensure the trade is not put to any
hardship and can get their appeals heard locally, as at present.
4. Further, as one of the main objectives of Faceless Assessment is
speedy and uniform assessment practices, in Phase 1 of Faceless Assessment,
Board hereby nominates Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of Customs,
Bengaluru City, Bengaluru, Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of Customs,
Airport and Air Cargo Complex, Bengaluru, Principal Commissioner/
Commissioner of Customs (II), Chennai and Principal Commissioner/
Commissioner of Customs (VII), Air Cargo Complex Chennai to be the nodal
Commissioners for the purpose of administratively monitoring the assessment
practice in respect of imported goods which are assigned in the Customs
Automated System to the officers of the Faceless Assessment Groups in
Bengaluru and Chennai, for articles primarily falling under Chapters 84 and 85,
of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. These nodal Commissioners would work in a
coordinated manner. This arrangement would pave the path to establish
National Assessment Commissionerates (NACs) with the mandate to examine
the assessment practices of imported articles across Customs stations and
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