Personal Hearing through Video Conferencing Facility Permitted under Customs Law

Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs had issued a letter dated April 27,2020 regarding guidelines for conduct of personal hearing in virtual mode under Custom Act, 1962 Board has decided that personal hearing may be conducted through video conferencing facility, in respect of any proceeding under Customs Act 1962. The guidelines for the conduct of virtual mode of personal hearing through video conferencing facility are as under:

1. In any proceedings before appellate or adjudicating authority under the Customs Act, 1962, taxpayer shall give his consent to avail the personal hearing before such authority, through video conferencing facility.
2. The date and time of hearing along with a link for the video conference shall be informed in advance to the taxpayer and the concerned commissioner representing revenue for conducting the virtual hearing.
3. The advocate/ consultant/ authorized representative, appearing on behalf of the taxpayer, should file his authorization letter along with a copy of his photo ID card and contact details.
4. All persons participating in the video conference should be appropriately dressed and maintain the decorum required for such an occasion.
5. The submissions made by the appellant or their representative through the video conference will be reduced in writing and a statement of the same will be prepared, which shall be known as "record of personal hearing". A soft copy of such a record of the personal hearing in PDF format will be sent to the appellant through email ID, within one day of such hearing.
6. The record of personal hearing submitted in this manner shall be deemed to be a document for the purpose of Customs Act, 1962 in terms of section 138C of the said Act, read with Section 4 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The aforesaid guidelines will mutatis mutandis would apply to personal hearings granted Central Excise Law and service tax law. Source: https://amrg.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=76d4537775f402afa508fb0fd&id=7afd374c52&e=a67b001013