Central Excise (India)

Cenhe Central Government under the authority of Entry 84 of the Union List (List 1) under Seventh Schedule read with Articles 268 to 281 of the Constitution of India.

History

The Central Excise duty is levied in terms of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and the rates of duty, ad valorem "(on value)" or specific, are prescribed under the Schedule I and II of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. The taxable event under the Central Excise law is ‘manufacture’ and the liability of Central Excise duty arises as soon as the goods are manufactured. The Central Excise Officers are also entrusted to collect other types of duties levied under Additional Duties (Goods of Special Importance) Act, Additional Duties (Textiles and Textiles Articles) Act, Cess etc.

Till 1969, there was physical control system wherein each clearance of manufactured from the factory was done under the supervision of the Central Excise Officers. Introduction of Self-Removal procedure was a watershed in the excise procedures. Now, the assessees were allowed to quantify the duty on the basis of approved classification list and the price list and clear the goods on payment of appropriate duty.

In 1994, the gate pass system gave way to the invoice-based system, and all clearances are now effected on manufacturer’s own invoice. Another major change was brought about in 1996, when the Self-Assessment system was introduced. This system is continuing today also. The assessee himself assesses his Tax Return and the Department scrutinises it or conducts selective audit to ascertain correctness of the duty payment. Even the classification and value of the goods have to be merely declared by the assessee instead of obtaining approval of the same from the Department.

In 2000, the fortnightly payment of duty system was introduced for all commodities, an extension of the monthly payment of duty system introduced the previous year for Small Scale Industries.

In 2001, new Central Excise (No.2) Rules, 2001 have replaced the Central Excise Rules, 1944 with effect from 1st July, 2001. Other rules have also been notified namely, CENVAT Credit Rules, 2001, Central Excise Appeal Rules, 2001etc. With the introduction of the new rules several changes have been effected in the procedures. The new procedures are simplified. There are less numbers of rules, only 32 as compared to 234 earlier. Classification declaration and Price declarations have also been dispensed with, the CENVAT Declaration having been earlier dispensed with in 2000 itself.

Administration

The Central Excise law is administered by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC or Board) through its field offices, the Central Excise Commissionerates. For this purpose, the country is divided into 10 Zones and a Chief Commissioner of Central Excise heads each Zone. There are total 61 Commissionerates in these Zones headed by Commissioner of Central Excise. Divisions and Ranges are the subsequent formations, headed by Deputy/Assistant Commissioners of Central Excise and Superintendents of Central Excise, respectively.

For enforcing the central excise law and collection of Central Excise duty the following types of procedures are being followed by the Central Excise Department:

* Physical Control – Applicable to cigarettes only. Here assessment precedes clearance which takes place under the supervision of Central Excise officers;
* Self-Removal Procedure – Applicable to all other goods produced or manufactured within the country. Under this system, the assessee himself determines the duty liability on the goods and clears the goods.

Invoice System

An invoice is the document under cover of which the excisable goods are to be cleared by the manufacturer. This is also the document which indicates the assessment of the goods to duty. No excisable goods can be cleared except under an invoice. The invoice is the manufacturers own document and though the Department has specified the entries thereon, the format is left to the manufacturer’s choice.

Serially numbered invoice

The invoice should be serially numbered and should contain the registration number, description, classification, time and date of removal, rate of duty, quantity and value, of goods and the duty payable thereon. The serial number should commence from 1st April every year [beginning of a financial year] .

Number of invoice copies

The invoice should be prepared in triplicate in the following manner, namely:-
* the original copy being marked as ORIGINAL FOR BUYER;
* the duplicate copy being marked as DUPLICATE FOR TRANSPORTER;
* the triplicate copy being marked as TRIPLICATE FOR ASSESSEE.

References

* [http://www.cbec.gov.in/excise/cx-manual/manual/index1.htm Central Excise Manual]
* [http://www.cbec.gov.in/excise/cx-manual/manual/chap4_part1.htm#ch4_p1_1 Invoice System]
* [http://www.pondycentralexcise.gov.in/Index.htm Pondicherry Chapter of http://www.cbec.gov.in/excise/cx-manual/manual/index1.htm

See also

* Income tax in India
* Service tax in India
* Value added tax