Adjudication and determination of duty:

Central Excise Officers have the power to determine duty short paid or not paid, but erroneously refunded under section 11A of the said Act. For this purpose, the Board has decided that the powers of adjudication and determination of duty shall be exercised, based on monetary limit (duty involved in a case) as follows: –

(a) All cases involving fraud, collusion, any willful mis-statement, suppression of facts, or contravention of Central Excise Act/ Rules made thereunder with intent to evade payment of duty and / or where extended period has been invoked in show-causenotices, (including CENVAT cases), will be adjudicated as follows:-

Central Excise Officers	Powers of Adjudication (Amount of duty involved)
(i) Commissioners (including Principal Commissioners)	Without limit
(ii) Additional Commissioners	Above Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 50 lakhs
(iii) Joint Commissioners
(iv) Deputy/Assistant Commissioners	Upto Rs 5 lakhs (except the cases where Superintendents are empowered to adjudicate)
(v) Superintendents*	Upto Rs 1 Lakh (excluding cases involving determination of rate of duty or valuation and cases involving extended period of limitation)

*With regard to the power of adjudication of cases given to Superintendents, the following aspects have been clarified:

1. They would be eligible to decide cases involving duty and/or CENVAT credit upto Rs 1 Lakh in individual Show Cause Notices (SCNs).

2. They would not be eligible to decide cases which involve excisability of a product, classification, eligibility of exemption, valuation and cases involving suppression of facts, fraud etc.

3. They would be eligible to decide cases involving wrong availment of CENVAT credit upto a monetary limit of upto Rs 1 Lakh.

(b) Cases which do not fall under the category (a) above, including all cases relating to determination of classification and valuation of excisable goods and CENVAT credit will be adjudicated as follows:

Central Excise Officers	Powers of Adjudication (Amount of duty involved)
(i) Commissioners (including Principal Commissioners)	Without limit
(ii) Additional Commissioner	Above Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 50 lakhs
(iii) Joint Commissioners
(iv) Deputy/Assistant Commissioners	Upto Rs 5 lakhs.

(c) Cases related to issues mentioned under first proviso to section 35B(1) where the cases do not go to Tribunal and have to be referred for the revision petition to Central Government under Section 35EE of Central Excise Act, 1944 would be adjudicated by the Additional Commissioners/ Joint Commissioners without any monetary limit.