Amended Central Excise Tariff - Alignment to HSN needs Amendments!
THE Central Excise Tariff was amended in the year 2005 by virtue of Central Excise Tariff (Amendment) Act, 2004 (5 of 2005) to align with the HSN and the Government issued several notifications to align the existing ones with the new tariff. This was also followed by another major amendment in January 2007. Refer to Dated: 25 2 2005, TIOL-DDT 63 Dated: 26.02.2005, TIOL-DDT 64 Dated: 28 02 2005 and TIOL-DDT 528 Dated: 09.01.2007 for more on this.
Even after a lapse of more than five years and several subsequent amendments later, the new tariff still creates lot of confusion in the minds of the stakeholders. Recently we received a mail from a vigilant netizen referring to the glitch in Sub Heading Note 8 of Chapter 48 and the description given in Chapter 4802 10. The Sub Heading Note 8 is extracted herewith for ready reference:
8. Sub-heading 4802 10 applies only to writing or printing paper, manufactured from pulp, and supplied directly from the factory of its manufacture against a purchase order, -
(a) placed upon the manufacturer by a State Textbook Publication Corporation or board, or in the case of States which do not have a State Textbook Publication Corporation or Board, by an officer not below the rank of a Deputy Secretary in the Sate Government concerned, or by the National Council or Educational Research and Training; and
(b) in which the said Corporation or Board or the said officer of the State Government concern or the said Council, as the case may be declares that the said paper shall be used for the printing of educational textbooks.
However, the description of goods in Chapter sub-heading 4802 10 refers to Handmade Paper and Paper Board. The Netizen wonders if there is any harmony in the Sub Heading Note and the description of goods in Chapter 4802 10 and he is absolutely right. In fact, prior to the amendment of excise tariff in 2005, Chapter 4802 10 referred to “writing or printing paper for printing of educational textbooks” which carried a tariff rate of Nil.
Though, in the new dispensation, the said products are exempted from duty by virtue of Notification No. dated 01.03.2005, the contradiction in the description of goods under Chapter 4802 10 with Sub Heading Note No. 8 of Chapter 48 still continues to remain on the statute book.
We hope that Board will take note of this anomaly and also make a thorough scrutiny of the Tariff for more such anomalies and take appropriate action to rectify them immediately.