CBIC mandates timebound digital records of arrests

The move is aimed at bringing more accountability and transparency in the search and seizure process and maintaining a robust database.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), in a letter dated March 1 to all its zonal offices, has directed uploading of all details related to arrests, seizures and prosecution on the DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) Intelligence Gathering and Investigation Tool (DIGIT). The tool is hosted on the CBIC website.

Details of arrests must be furnished within three days while in cases of seizure of goods or documents, the deadline is five days. ET has seen a copy of the letter.

“Every seizure of commodities, documents, or other items must be recorded in DIGIT along with any other pertinent information, such as the location and size of the seizure,” the letter said.

Officials are already required to upload the data, but no timeframe was specified. This has, at times, led to the issue of multiple notices for the same offence. “All formations must work to ensure that all data entry is completed promptly, accurately and without the need for any revisions in order to protect the integrity of DIGIT data,” it said.

For prosecution orders, show-cause notices and closure reports, the entry must be made with the original copy by the fifth of the following month. The new requirement will cover cases related to Customs Act, including the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.When a person is arrested, information of the person’s identity based on documents authorised by government authorities, place and date of arrest, date of production before the magistrate and other pertinent information should be entered in DIGIT, the letter said.