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Appellate Tribunal

APPELLATE TRIBUNAL (SAFEMA)

  1. The Appellate Tribunal for Forfeited Property (ATFP) was constituted under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976 (SAFEMA). It started functioning w.e.f 03.01.1977. Subsequently, the Tribunal was also constituted as the Appellate Tribunal under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS) after its amendment in the year 1989
  2. The Tribunal was established pursuant to the enactment of SAFEMA which was brought with the objective to effective prevention of smuggling activities and foreign exchange manipulations as it was considered necessary to deprive persons engaged in such activities of their ill gotten money. Identical provisions were incorporate in the NDPS Act in the year 1989 as the illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances also poses a serious threat to the health and welfare of the people, and the activities of persons engaged in illicit traffic have a deleterious effect on the national economy.
  3. The Tribunal comprises a Chairman (who is or has been a Judge of the High Court or Supreme Court) and two Members (who are generally of the level of Additional Secretary to the Government of India). It is situated at New Delhi without any Benches elsewhere. However, in order to provide justice at the door step of public, the Tribunal holds camp sittings at different places in the country under the provisions of the above Acts. The Tribunal is the final appellate forum in the matters of forfeiture of properties under the SAFEMA and NDPS Act.
  4. The Tribunal hears/considers for decision/order appeals and allied matters filed against the forfeiture, or other orders passed by the officers designated as Competent Authority under the SAFEMA and NDPS Act. At present there are four Competentfour Competent Authorities with offices at Delhi,, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The Orders are passed by these Competent Authorities for forfeiture of illegal properties of the persons convicted under Customs Act, 1962 or NDPS Act, 1985 or detained under COFEPOSA, 1974 or PITNDPS Act, 1988 and also the properties held by such persons in the names of their relatives and associated and seizure or freezing of illegally acquired property of the persons covered under NDPS Act.
  5. The appeals and petitions are decided by the Benches consisting of at least two Members and constituted by the Chairman. At present the Tribunal is presided over by Shri Justice A.k. Mahajan, who is a former Judge of High Court of Delhi.
  6. Besides judicial work, the Chairman also functions as Head of the Department for administrative work. The Registrar of the Tribunal besides registering the appeals functions also as Head of the Office.
  7. Recently, this Tribunal has also been entrusted the appellative matters pertaining to confiscation of properties under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The present Chairman and one Member of ATFP have been appointed as the Chairperson and Member of the Appellate Tribunal constituted under the PMLA. The Registrar, APFP, will function as Registrar of the Appellate Tribunal under the PMLA. While the Chairman and one Member of Appellate Tribunal under the PMLA, one new Member having accounting background (to be called Accountant Member) will also be appointed under PMLA.