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The Tax Publishers THE CENTRAL EXCISE ACT, 1944 [Act No. 1 of 1944] [24th February, 1944] An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to Central Duties of Excise ¹[* * ]^.2 WHEREAS it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating to central duties of excise on goods manufactured or produced in [[certain parts] of India] [ * ]. It is hereby enacted as follows :- CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY SECTION 1. Short title, extent and commencement. —* (1) This Act may be called the Central Excise Act, 1944. (2) It extends to the whole of India [* * ]. 1 The words “and to Salt” omitted (w.e.f. 28-9-1996) by s. 69 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1996 (33 of 1996). Statement of Objects and Reasons* (Vide Gazette of India, 1943, Part-V, page 243). — The administration of internal commodity taxation in British India has grown up piecemeal over many years and has been considerably expanded during the last decade. Hitherto the introduction of a new central duty of excise has required the enactment of self-contained law and the preparation of a separate set of statutory rules. There are no less than 10 separate excise Acts (the excise on kerosene being covered by a part of the Indian Finance Act, 1922) and 11 sets of statutory rules; and there are also 5 Acts relating to salt, the duty on which is by a wide margin the oldest of our taxes on indigenous commodities. The taxes being closely akin to one another, the methods of collection follow the same general pattern, and many of the provisions of the various Acts are identical or closely similar; and this is the case also with many of the statutory rules. This agglomeration of statutes and regulations dealing with similar matters is neither convenient for the public nor conducive to well-organized administration. Moreover, under this disjunctive arrangement, we have not, and cannot readily construct, a comprehensive code of standing instructions for the governance of the excise staff and each set of statutory rules is burdened with departmental instructions in which the public has no concern or interest and which, even taken together, do not form an adequate administrative code. 2. It is accordingly proposed to consolidate in a single enactment all the laws relating to central duties of excise and to the tax on salt and to embody therein a Schedule, similar to that in the Indian Tariff Act, 1934, setting forth the rates of duty leviable on each class of goods. At the same time the statutory rules will be similarly amalgamated and disembarassed of their unnecessary details. The Act and the consolidated statutory rules, together with as many manuals of departmental instructions as may be necessary, will then form a complete Central Excise Code, which will simplify the administration of this branch of the revenue system and aid such further development as may be necessary; and any proposal for a new excise which may hereafter be laid before the Legislature may then take the simpler and more convenient form of a clause in the annual Finance Bill. 3. The intention of the Bill is to reproduce provisions already existing in the Acts which it is proposed to repeal, but in the process certain small amendments have been made, either in modernising the language or for dovetailing the provisions and otherwise adapting them to present circumstances. These amendments are the minimum consistent with such blending and adaptation. 4. The combination of a number of separate measures, each of which has been moulded to fit its particular subject, necessarily includes their special features as well as those which are common to others in the group and it follows that certain provisions which have hitherto applied only to certain goods will, after consolidation, become applicable over the whole field, either as a matter of course or by notification as circumstances may require. In particular the Bill provides that certain features of the salt law relating to transport by small coastal craft will become adaptable, as necessary, in the administration of other excise duties. 5. No interference of any kind is made in any of the existing duties. These have been merely collected from the various Acts and reproduced in the Schedule; and the item relating to salt has been so worded as to preserve, to the Central Legislature the right which it has so long exercised of voting annually on the rate of duty to be fixed. 6. There follows in the form of Notes on Clauses a tabular statement showing the source of each provision of the Bill. SUBSCRIBE FOR FULL CONTENT

The Tax Publishers

THE CENTRAL EXCISE ACT, 1944

[Act No. 1 of 1944]

[24th February, 1944]

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to Central Duties of Excise ¹[* * *]^.2

WHEREAS it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating to central duties of excise on goods manufactured or produced in [[certain parts] of India] [* * *].

It is hereby enacted as follows :-

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

SECTION 1. Short title, extent and commencement. —

(1) This Act may be called the Central Excise Act, 1944.

(2) It extends to the whole of India [* * *].

1 The words “and to Salt” omitted (w.e.f. 28-9-1996) by s. 69 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1996 (33 of 1996).

Statement of Objects and Reasons (Vide Gazette of India, 1943, Part-V, page 243). — The administration of internal commodity taxation in British India has grown up piecemeal over many years and has been considerably expanded during the last decade. Hitherto the introduction of a new central duty of excise has required the enactment of self-contained law and the preparation of a separate set of statutory rules. There are no less than 10 separate excise Acts (the excise on kerosene being covered by a part of the Indian Finance Act, 1922) and 11 sets of statutory rules; and there are also 5 Acts relating to salt, the duty on which is by a wide margin the oldest of our taxes on indigenous commodities. The taxes being closely akin to one another, the methods of collection follow the same general pattern, and many of the provisions of the various Acts are identical or closely similar; and this is the case also with many of the statutory rules. This agglomeration of statutes and regulations dealing with similar matters is neither convenient for the public nor conducive to well-organized administration. Moreover, under this disjunctive arrangement, we have not, and cannot readily construct, a comprehensive code of standing instructions for the governance of the excise staff and each set of statutory rules is burdened with departmental instructions in which the public has no concern or interest and which, even taken together, do not form an adequate administrative code.

2. It is accordingly proposed to consolidate in a single enactment all the laws relating to central duties of excise and to the tax on salt and to embody therein a Schedule, similar to that in the Indian Tariff Act, 1934, setting forth the rates of duty leviable on each class of goods. At the same time the statutory rules will be similarly amalgamated and disembarassed of their unnecessary details. The Act and the consolidated statutory rules, together with as many manuals of departmental instructions as may be necessary, will then form a complete Central Excise Code, which will simplify the administration of this branch of the revenue system and aid such further development as may be necessary; and any proposal for a new excise which may hereafter be laid before the Legislature may then take the simpler and more convenient form of a clause in the annual Finance Bill.

3. The intention of the Bill is to reproduce provisions already existing in the Acts which it is proposed to repeal, but in the process certain small amendments have been made, either in modernising the language or for dovetailing the provisions and otherwise adapting them to present circumstances. These amendments are the minimum consistent with such blending and adaptation.

4. The combination of a number of separate measures, each of which has been moulded to fit its particular subject, necessarily includes their special features as well as those which are common to others in the group and it follows that certain provisions which have hitherto applied only to certain goods will, after consolidation, become applicable over the whole field, either as a matter of course or by notification as circumstances may require. In particular the Bill provides that certain features of the salt law relating to transport by small coastal craft will become adaptable, as necessary, in the administration of other excise duties.

5. No interference of any kind is made in any of the existing duties. These have been merely collected from the various Acts and reproduced in the Schedule; and the item relating to salt has been so worded as to preserve, to the Central Legislature the right which it has so long exercised of voting annually on the rate of duty to be fixed.

6. There follows in the form of Notes on Clauses a tabular statement showing the source of each provision of the Bill.