DIGIT, official repository of Customs Act Violations: CBIC Notifies Completion of Data Entry on Official Website [Read Instruction]

Instruction No. 07/2023-Customs, dated February 28, 2023, was issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on the completion of data entry in the DRI Intelligence Gathering and Investigation Tool (DIGIT) on the CBIC website.

Regarding the completion of data entry in DIGIT, the notification referred to the earlier CBIC order No. 06/2018-Customs from April 2, 2018. All formations were instructed to complete data entry in DIGIT by March 31, 2018, in accordance with aforementioned directives. All Show Cause Notices (SCNs) and Orders in Original must be uploaded on DIGIT as of April 1, 2018.

The Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and other Acts being enforced by the Customs formations of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), including the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), are all kept in DIGIT, India’s National Customs Offence Database, which also serves as the official repository of all cases involving violations of these Acts.

The data available on these two platforms needs to be synchronised after an analysis of the data published by various Customs formations on DIGIT revealed some differences from the data available in Monthly Performance Reports (MPRs) as uploaded on the DDM portal. These instructions, which outline the requirements for what must all be put in DIGIT and the appropriate deadlines for the same, are therefore being issued in supersession of all preceding instructions.

Stages of Data Entry in DIGIT

Data entry in DIGIT is to be done at the following stages:

1. Detection: The term “detection” denotes the formation of an offence based on the seizure of goods, documents, or other items; the recording of a statement pursuant to the applicable Act’s pertinent provisions; or the self-admission in writing by the importer or exporter or their authorised signatory of the commission of an offence in conformance with the Customs Act of 1962 or any other Act.

2. Arrest: All arrests made in accordance with the Customs Act or the NDPS Act must be recorded in DIGIT and DIN, as appropriate. The detainee’s information should be entered in DIGIT, including his identity (based on his Aadhaar number, PAN, Passport number, driving licence number, or any other document authorised by the government authorities), place and date of arrest, date of production before the magistrate, and other pertinent information, such as that of custody.

3. Seizure: 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.

4. Conclusion of Investigations: Every investigation attains completion through one of the following means:-

a. Issue of Show Cause Notice (SCN)

b. Filing of Complaint under NDPS Act –

c. Closure of investigations under the provisions of Section 28(2) of the Customs Act, 1962.

d. Investigations are closed in accordance with Section 28(4) of the Customs Act of 1962.

e. Case not established

5. Adjudication: Details of the Order-in-Original or the Adjudication order must be filed in DIGIT after issuance, together with a copy of the Original Order.

6. Prosecution: The competent authority’s determination of whether a case qualifies for prosecution or not must also be recorded in DIGIT’s Prosecution module. When a prosecution is authorised by the appropriate authorities, the following information must also be submitted in DIGIT:

a. Sanction details (including name and designation of the sanctioning authority, and the date of sanction);

b. Details of Complaint (including Complaint No., Name of the Court, Date of Complaint, etc.);

c. Outcome of Complaint; and

d. Details of Immunity granted (including through order of Settlement Commission or Compounding of offences by the Competent Authority).

Timelines for Data Entry:

The information in DIGIT is used for a variety of reporting purposes, such as composing responses to parliamentary questions and creating monthly reports. Data accuracy and timely input are therefore essential for DIGIT’s use. There are the following time restrictions for feeding/uploading data to DIGIT:

a. Details of Case Detection – within 5 days of detection of the case;

b. Details of Arrest – within 3 days of date of arrest;

c. Details of Seizure of Goods, documents or things – within 5 days of seizure;

d. Uploading of SCN – from the date of issue of SCN till 5th day of the following month;

e. Uploading Conclusion of Investigations – from the date of approval of closure/completion of investigations by the competent authority till 5th day of the following month;

f. Unloading details of Adjudication – from the date of issue of O-i-O till 5 th day of the following month;

g. Uploading details of launch of prosecution- from the date of approval of prosecution by the competent authority/ filing of complaint till 5th day of the following month.

Modification of DIGIT entries: 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. However, if any entry in DIGIT needs to be modified, the Nodal officer of that formation must request the modification in writing and include the necessary justifications, with the approval of the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner or Principal Additional Director General/Director General of that formation.

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