Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)

Subject :National organisation

Context: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is celebrating its 65th Founding Day on 5th-6th December, 2022 this year.

Concept –

• The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, is the apex agency of the Indian Customs in the field of anti-smuggling in India.
• DRI enforces the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and over fifty other allied Acts including the Arms Act, NDPS Act, COFEPOSA, Wildlife Act, Antiquities Act etc.
• DRI undertakes collection, collation, analysis and dissemination of intelligence relating to smuggling, carries out investigations, adjudication of cases and prosecution of the arrested persons. Ever since its inception in 1957, DRI has discharged its responsibilities with commitment and professionalism and has made a significant contribution in safeguarding India’s interest, at home and abroad and in ensuring national security

DRI mandate:

• Smuggling
• Gold
• Narcotics
• Foreign Currency
• Trade Based Money Laundering
• Mis-declaration
• Under invoicing
• Misuse of End Use and Other Notifications:
• Misuse of Foreign /Preferential Trade Agreement (FTA/PTA)
• Misuse of Importer Exporter Code
• Crime against environment

The Government of India is a signatory to various treaties and conventions under which trans-border movements of specified commodities are regulated, such as the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and their Destruction (CWC), the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety, Montreal Protocol on substances that delete the ozone layer, the Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides etc. As the enforcement agency responsible for securing the economic frontiers of the country, one of DRI’s mandates is to ensure that compliance of national laws is met with respect to goods entering or leaving the country. Relevant provisions in the Customs Act, 1962 empower the customs officers to intercept any goods which do not comply with the provisions of other Acts, insofar as import and export are concerned.