The Ministry of Finance issued Notification No. G.S.R. 173(E) dated March 13, 2025, announcing the formation of a new Advisory Board under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA). This board will work for one year to review cases of people detained for smuggling or illegal foreign exchange activities.
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As per the notification, the Advisory Board will have:
The board will start its work on March 23, 2025. It replaces an earlier board set up by Notification No. G.S.R. 202(E) dated March 15, 2024, though any past actions under the old board will still be valid.
This board is important because it reviews detention orders given to people suspected of breaking foreign exchange laws or smuggling goods. The board will check whether these detentions follow the law and decide whether to continue them or cancel them.
This comes amid a Supreme Court ruling in the Joy Kitti Joseph vs. Union of India & Others case, where the court overturned a preventive detention order related to a gold smuggling ring. The court found that authorities ignored strict bail conditions set by the magistrate, making the detention unjustified.
A bench comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice K. Vinod Chandran criticized the detaining authorities for failing to assess whether the bail conditions could effectively prevent the detainee from engaging in further smuggling activities. The court emphasized that under COFEPOSA, evaluating the necessity of preventive detention is crucial, especially when bail conditions are already in place.
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The Supreme Court observed that overlooking the effectiveness of bail conditions was a major flaw in the detention process and ordered the detainee’s immediate release.
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