CRIB was charged with the responsibility of dealing with all matters connected with anti-smuggling and anti-corruption in the Customs and Central Excise organizations all over India was constituted.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence was thus constituted on 4 December 1957, for dealing exclusively with the work relating to the collection and study of information on smuggling activities and the deployment of all anti-smuggling resources at the all India level, besides arranging training for the intelligence and Investigation officers of the Custom Houses and Central Excise Collectorates deployed on similar work.

The charter of the DRI encompassed all aspects of work pertaining to customs, central excise and narcotics which required control, direction and investigation from the centre.

DRI is also a part of the Cabinet Secretariat's National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention, the Special Investigation Team on Black Money, the Task Force on Shell Companies, the Multi Agency Center (MAC) on National Security, the Ministry of Home Affairs/NIA's special wings on Left Wing Extremism Financing, as well as various inter-ministerial committees on Terror Financing, Coastal Security, Fake Indian Currency Notes, etc.

A TV serial on Sony Channel was aired on every Thursday, named Powder, a production of Yashraj Pictures, which was based on DRI.