Customs & Excise Laws and Administrative Justice: The Dynamics of Indirect Taxation and State Power in India

Just as India's economy has grown phenomenally in recent decades, so have the central governmetn’s revenues. From merely Rs 10,000 crores in the 1960s, gross revenues have gone up to about Rs 700,000 crores today. Customs and excise contribute almost half of the total. Behind this positive picture, however, are fundamental problems in commodity tax administration that threaten in commodity tax administration that threaten the country's economic health and encroach upon the constitutional rights of citizens. P.V. Jois, a lawyer with almost half a century of experience in the field of customs and excise laws, subjects the Indian system of commodity taxation to a sustained critical analysis. He argues that most of the problems and unnecessary complexity prevalent today are the result of excessive delegation of authority through subordinate legislation. Such legislation effectively gives revenue officials powers to prescribe rates of duty leviable and also to classify and value goods. Delegation of authority and flexibility in the hands of civil servants are appropriate in a modern economy. However, effective control over the exercise of discretionary power by the executive is essential. The author contends that in India such control is lacking. This unique volume explores the entire tax administration process and explains the issues that arise during assessment procedures and appeals. It examines the attitude of parliament the judiciary, and other institutions including the comptroller and Accountant-General. It considers all major decisions of the Indian Supreme Court, as well as those of courts abroad, and critically analyses the applicability of the doctrines of unjust enrichment and of promissory estoppel. It also suggests ways to improve the system. This important new work will interest law professionals in the fields of tax, and constitutional and administrative law, customs and excise consultants, revenue officials, policy makers, industry advisors as well as students and scholars of tax laws, constitutional and administrative law, political science, and economics.