Directorate of Revenue Intelligence

Crime Against Environment

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. These multilateral agreements regulate the cross-border movements of many substances and products in the form of import and export thereof. DRI has been in the forefront of the drive against violations of such multi-lateral agreements, which may not have a direct impact on the government revenue, but are highly detrimental to the environment and ecology of the country. 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.

Last Updated: Saturday, February 02, 2019