- - EXCISE - FINANCE BILL, 2017

EXCISE

Note: “Basic Excise Duty” means the excise duty set forth in the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.

I. AMENDMENTS IN THE CENTRAL EXCISE ACT, 1944:

S. No.	Amendment	Clause of the Finance Bill, 2017
1.	Clause (e) of section 23A is being amended so as to substitute the definition of “Authority” to mean the Authority for Advance Ruling as constituted under section 245-O of the Income-tax Act, 1961.	[111]
2.	Section 23B relating to vacancies not to invalidate proceedings is being omitted.	[112]
3.	Sub-section (3) of section 23C is being amended so as to increase the application fee for seeking advance ruling from rupees two thousand five hundred to rupees ten thousand on the lines of the Income-tax Act.	[113]
4.	Sub-section (6) of section 23D is being amended so as to provide time of limit of six months by which Authority shall pronounce its ruling on the lines of the Income-tax Act.	[114]
5.	A new section 23-I is being inserted so as to provide for transferring the pending applications before the Authority for Advance Rulings (Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax) to the Authority constituted under section 245-O of the Income-tax Act from the stage at which such proceedings stood as on the date on which the Finance Bill, 2017 receives the assent of the President.	[115]
6.	Section 32E is being amended so as to insert a new sub-section (5) therein to enable any person, other than assessee, referred to in sub-section (1) to make an application to the Settlement Commission.	[116]
7.	Sub-section (3) of section 32F is being amended so as to substitute certain words therein. It further seeks to insert a new sub-section (5A) therein to enable the Settlement Commission to amend the order passed by it under sub-section (5), to rectify any error apparent on the face of record.	[117]

II. AMENDMENTS IN THE FIRST SCHEDULE TO THE CENTRAL EXCISE TARIFF ACT, 1985 [Clause 118 of the Finance Bill, 2017]

S. No.	Amendment
	Amendments involving change in the rate of Basic Excise duty	Rate of Duty
	Commodity	From	To
A.	Tobacco and Tobacco Products
1.	Cigar and cheroots	12.5% or ₹ 3755 per thousand, whichever is higher	12.5% or ₹ 4006 per thousand, whichever is higher
2.	Cigarillos	12.5% or ₹ 3755 per thousand, whichever is higher	12.5% or ₹ 4006 per thousand, whichever is higher
3.	Cigarettes of tobacco substitutes	Rs.3755 per thousand	Rs.4006 per thousand
4.	Cigarillos of tobacco substitutes	12.5% or ₹ 3755 per thousand, whichever is higher	12.5% or ₹ 4006 per thousand, whichever is higher
5.	Others of tobacco substitutes	12.5% or ₹ 3755 per thousand, whichever is higher	12.5% or ₹ 4006 per thousand, whichever is higher

The amendments involving change in the duty rates will come into effect immediately owing to a declaration under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931.

III. OTHER PROPOSALS INVOLVING CHANGES IN EXCISE DUTY RATES:

S. No.	Commodity	From	To
	Amendments involving change in the rate of Additional Excise duty under Finance Act, 2005
B.	Pan Masala
6.	Pan Masala	6%	9%
C.	Tobacco and Tobacco Products
7.	Unmanufactured tobacco	4.2%	8.3%
	Amendments involving change in the rate of Basic Excise duty
8.	Paper rolled biris – handmade	Rs.21 per thousand	Rs.28 per thousand
9.	Paper rolled biris – machine made	Rs.21 per thousand	Rs.78 per thousand
D.	Renewable Energy
10.	Solar tempered glass for use in solar photovoltaic cells/modules, solar power generating equipment or systems, flat plate solar collector, solar photovoltaic module and panel for water pumping and other applications, subject to actual user condition	Nil	6%
11.	Parts/raw materials for manufacture of solar tempered glass for use in solar photovoltaic cells/modules, solar power generating equipment or systems, flat plate solar collector, solar photovoltaic module and panel for water pumping and other applications, subject to actual user condition	12.5%	6%
12.	Resin and catalyst for manufacture of cast components for Wind Operated Energy Generators [WOEG], subject to actual user condition	12.5%	Nil
13.	All items of machinery generating systems to demonstration purposes required be set for up fuel cell based in the country power or for	12.5%	6%
14.	All items of machinery required for balance of systems operating on biogas/bio-methane/by-product hydrogen	12.5%	6%
E.	Miscellaneous
15	Membrane Sheet and Tricot/Spacer for use in manufacture of RO membrane element for household type filters, subject to actual user condition	12.5%	6%
17.	All parts for manufacture of LED lights or fixtures, including LED lamps, subject to actual user condition	Applicable duty	6%
18.	Miniaturized POS card reader for m-POS (not including mobile phones, or tablet computers), micro ATM as per standards version 1.5.1, Finger Print Reader/Scanner or Iris Scanner	Applicable duty	Nil
19.	Parts and components for manufacture of miniaturized POS card reader for m-POS (not including mobile phones, or tablet computers), micro ATM as per standards version 1.5.1, Finger Print Reader/Scanner or Iris Scanner, subject to actual user condition	Applicable duty	Nil
20.	a. Waste and scrap of precious metals or metals clad with precious metals arising in course of manufacture of goods falling in Chapter 71 b. Strips, wires, sheets, plates and foils of silver c. Articles of silver jewellery, other than those studded with diamond, ruby, emerald or sapphire d. Silver coin of purity 99.9% and above, bearing a brand name when manufactured from silver on which appropriate duty of customs or excise has been paid	Nil	Nil, subject to the condition that no credit of duty paid on inputs or input services or capital goods has been availed by manufacturer of such goods

IV. AMENDMENTS IN THE CENTRAL EXCISE RULES, 2002 AND THE CENVAT CREDIT RULES, 2004

S. No.	Amendment
1.	Sub-rule (2) is being inserted in rule 21 of Central Excise Rules, 2002 so as to provide for a time limit of three months [further extendable by 6 months] for granting remission of duty under the said rule 21 read with section 5 of the Central Excise Act, 1944.
2.	Sub-rule (4) is being inserted in rule 10 of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 so as to provide for a time limit of three months [further extendable by 6 months] for approval of requests regarding transfer of CENVAT credit on shifting, sale, merger, etc. of the factory.

V. RETROSPECTIVE AMENDMENT

S. No.	Amendment	Clause of the Finance Bill, 2016
1.	To retrospectively [that is with effect from 01.01.2017] specify a tariff rate of excise duty of 12.5% [as against present tariff rate of 27%] on motor vehicles for transport of more than 13 persons falling under tariff items 8702 90 21 to 8702 90 29 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.	[119]

VI. AMENDMENTS IN THE SEVENTH SCHEDULE TO THE FINANCE ACT, 2005

[Clause 146 of the Finance Bill, 2017]

S. No.	Amendment
	Amendments involving change in the rate of Additional Excise duty	Rate of duty
	Commodity	From	To
A.	Tobacco and Tobacco Products
1.	Non-filter Cigarettes of length not exceeding 65mm	Rs.215 per thousand	Rs.311 per thousand
2.	Non-filter Cigarettes of length exceeding 65mm but not exceeding 70mm	Rs.370 per thousand	Rs.541 per thousand
3.	Filter Cigarettes of length not exceeding 65mm	Rs.215 per thousand	Rs.311 per thousand
4.	Filter Cigarettes of length exceeding 65mm but not exceeding 70mm	Rs.260 per thousand	Rs.386 per thousand
5.	Filter Cigarettes of length exceeding 70mm but not exceeding 75mm	Rs.370 per thousand	Rs.541 per thousand
6.	Other Cigarettes	Rs.560 per thousand	Rs.811 per thousand
7.	Chewing tobacco (including filter khaini)	10%	12%
8.	Jarda scented tobacco	10%	12%
9.	Pan Masala containing Tobacco (Gutkha)	10%	12%

The amendments involving change in the duty rates will come into effect immediately owing to a declaration under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931.