Excise
Clause 78 of the Bill seeks to amend section 9 of the Central Excise Act so as to increase the threshold limit of evasion, for punishment with imprisonment upto seven years and with fine, from “thirty lakh rupees” to “fifty lakh rupees”.
Clause 79 of the Bill seeks to amend section 9A of the Central Excise Act—
(i) to substitute sub-section (1) so as to provide that offences under section 9, except the offences referred to in the proposed sub-section (1A), shall continue to be noncognizable;
(ii) to insert new sub-section (1A) so as to provide that offences relating to excisable goods where the duty leviable on such goods exceeds fifty lakh rupees and punishable under clause (b) or clause (bbbb) of subsection (1) of section 9 shall be cognizable and nonbailable.
Clause 80 of the Bill seeks to amend section 11 of the Central Excise Act, so as to provide for additional modes of recovery of the amount due to the Central Government.
Besides the existing mode of recovery, now it is proposed to provide that in case of dues of central excise, the Central Excise Officer may require any other officer of Central Excise or Customs to recover the amount due from such money which is payable to such person.
It is also proposed to provide for another mode of recovery so that a person (third party) from whom amount is due or may become due to the defaulter shall be required to pay to the Central Government so much amount as is sufficient to pay the arrears of revenue. Any of these two new modes of recovery can be used by the Central Excise Officer besides the existing modes of recovery.
Clause 81 of the Bill proposes to insert sub-section (7A) in section 11A with a view to provide that where a notice or notices have been served under sub-section (1) or sub-section (3) or subsection (4) or sub-section (5), service of a statement of details of duty of excise not levied, or not paid or short levied or short paid or erroneously refunded, on the person chargeable with duty of excise, shall be deemed to be service of notice on such person if the grounds relied upon are the same.
Clause 82 of the Bill seeks to amend sub-section (1) of section 11DDA of the Central Excise Act, so as to align the same with section 11A.
Clause 83 of the Bill seeks to amend section 20 of the Central Excise Act so as to make the provisions applicable only to offence which is non-cognizable.
Clause 84 of the Bill seeks to amend clause (a) and clause (b) of the proviso to sub-section (2) of section 21 of the Central Excise Act so as to make the provisions regarding release of arrested person on bail or on personal bond applicable only to an offence which is non-cognizable.
Clause 85 of the Bill seeks to substitute clause (a) of section 23A of the Central Excise Act, for the purpose of expanding the scope of activity of production or manufacture so as to include any new business of production or manufacture by the existing producer or manufacturer in order to enable such producer or manufacturer to seek advance ruling before the Authority for Advance Rulings.
Clause 86 of the Bill seeks to amend clause (e) of subsection (2) of section 23C of the Central Excise Act, so as to extend the Advance Ruling provisions also to the admissibility of the credit of service tax paid or deemed to have been paid on input service used in the manufacture of the excisable goods.
Clause 87 of the Bill seeks to amend sub-section (1) of section 23F of the Central Excise Act, so as to substitute the word, figures and letter “section 28-I”, with the word, figures and letter “section 23D”.
Clause 88 of the Bill seeks to insert a new proviso after the second proviso in sub-section (2A) of section 35C of the Central Excise Act, so as to stipulate that on an application made by a party and on being satisfied that the delay in disposing of the appeal is not attributable to such party, the Appellate Tribunal shall have the power to extend the period of stay to such further period, as it thinks fit, not exceeding one hundred and eighty-five days, and in case the appeal is not so disposed of within the total period of three hundred and sixty-five days from the date of order referred to in the first proviso, the stay order stands vacated.
Clause 89 seeks to amend section 35D of the Central Excise Act, with a view to enhance the monetary limit of the Single Bench of the Appellate Tribunal to hear and dispose of appeals from “ten lakh rupees” to “fifty lakh rupees”.
Clause 90 of the Bill seeks to amend clause (a) of subsection (1) of section 37C of the Central Excise Act, so as to specify additional modes of service of specified documents. These modes are speed post with proof of delivery or by courier as approved by the Central Board of Excise and Customs constituted under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963. Sub-clause (ii) of said clause proposes to make consequential amendments in sub-section (2) of section 37C.
Clause 91 of the Bill seeks to amend the Third Schedule to the Central Excise Act so as to insert a new entry 31A relating to medicaments used in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathic or Bio-chemic systems and to subsitute the entry “7615 10 11” for the existing entry “7615 19 10” in column (2) against Sl. No. 64 in the manner specified in the Fifth Schedule.
