Recovery of sums due to Government

Section 142 of the Customs Act, 1962 deals with recovery of sums due to Government. [Where any sum payable by any person] under this Act [including the amount required to be paid to the credit of the Central Government under section 28B] is not paid,-- (a) the proper officer may deduct or may require any other officer of customs to deduct the amount so payable from any money owing The Act came into force on 01 Feb 1963.

(1) ¹[Where any sum payable by any person] under this Act ²[including the amount required to be paid to the credit of the Central Government under section 28B] is not paid,--

(a) the proper officer may deduct or may require any other officer of customs to deduct the amount so payable from any money owing to such person which may be under the control of the proper officer or such other officer of customs; or

(b) the ³[Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs] may recover or may require any other officer of customs to recover the amount so payable by detaining and selling any goods belonging to such person which are under the control of the ³[Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs] or such other officer of customs; or

⁴[(c) if the amount cannot be recovered from such person in the manner provided in clause (a) or clause (b)--

(i) the ³[Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs] may prepare a certificate signed by him specifying the amount due from such person and send it to the Collector of the district in which such person owns any property or resides or carries on his business and the said Collector on receipt of such certificate shall proceed to recover from such person the amount specified there under as if it were an arrear of land revenue; or

(ii) the proper officer may, on an authorisation by ⁵[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs] and in accordance with the rules made in this behalf, distrain any movable or immovable property belonging to or under the control of such person, and detain the same until the amount payable is paid; and in case, any part of the said amount payable or of the cost of the distress or keeping of the property, remains unpaid for a period of thirty days next after any such distress, may cause the said property to be sold and with the proceeds of such sale, may satisfy the amount payable and the costs including cost of sale remaining unpaid and shall render the surplus, if any, to such person;]

⁶[Provided that where the person (hereinafter referred to as predecessor), by whom any sum payable under this Act including the amount required to be paid to the credit of the Central Government under section 28B is not paid, transfers or otherwise disposes of his business or trade in whole or in part, or effects any change in the ownership thereof, in consequence of which he is succeeded in such business or trade by any other person, all goods, materials, preparations, plants, machineries, vessels, utensils, implements and articles in the custody or possession of the person so succeeding may also be attached and sold by the proper officer, after obtaining written approval from the ⁵[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs], for the purposes of recovering the amount so payable by such predecessor at the time of such transfer or otherwise disposal or change.]

⁷[(d) (i) the proper officer may, by a notice in writing, require any other person from whom money is due to such person or may become due to such person or who holds or may subsequently hold money for or on account of such person, to pay to the credit of the Central Government either forthwith upon the money becoming due or being held, or at or within the time specified in the notice not being before the money becomes due or is held, so much of the money as is sufficient to pay the amount due from such person or the whole of the money when it is equal to or less than that amount;

(ii) every person to whom the notice is issued under this section shall be bound to comply with such notice, and in particular, where any such notice is issued to a post office, banking company or an insurer, it shall not be necessary to produce any pass book, deposit receipt, policy or any other document for the purpose of any entry, endorsement or the like being made before the payment is made, notwithstanding any rule, practice or requirement to the contrary;

(iii) in case the person to whom a notice under this section has been issued, fails to make the payment in pursuance thereof to the Central Government, he shall be deemed to be a defaulter in respect of the amount specified in the notice and all the consequences of this Chapter shall follow.]

(2) Where the terms of any bond or other instrument executed under this Act or any rules or regulations made thereunder provide that any amount due under such instrument may be recovered in the manner laid down in sub-section (1), the amount may, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, be recovered in accordance with the provisions of that sub-section.

Section 142, The Customs Act, 1962 (Act 52 of 1962).