Powers of officers of customs (Section 5):

The Board (CBEC) may appoint such persons as it thinks fit to be officers of customs. As per section 5 of the Customs Act, 1962, the powers of officers of customs are as under:

(1) Subject to such conditions and limitations as the Board may impose, an officer of customs may exercise the powers and discharge the duties conferred or imposed on him under this Act.

(2) An officer of customs may exercise the powers and discharge the duties conferred or imposed under this Act on any other officer of customs who is subordinate to him.

(3) However, the Commissioner (Appeals) shall not exercise the powers and discharge the duties conferred or imposed on an officer of customs other than those specified in Chapter XV (Appeals and Revision) and section 108 (Power to summon persons for giving evidence).