Today is Central Excise Day
TIOL greets all excise officials, as they get ready to celebrate Central Excise Day today.
Before 1889, the Salt, Abkari and Customs departments were together. By the Madras Salt Act 1889, Salt and Abkari were organised under the Madras Salt department and it functioned from the Custom House at Madras. The Salt and Abkari department, which was separated from the Customs but functioned from the Custom House, Madras, was the initial Excise administration in Madras.
The Salt department, under the Collector of Salt Revenue, Madras had three divisions - Northern, Central and Southern. Northern division consisted of Cocanada, Nellore, Massulipattinam and Chicacole. Central Division consisted of Chengleput, Bellary, Arcot and Cuddalore. Southern division consisted of sub-divisions like Nagapattinam, Tinnavelley, Trichinapally, and Calicut. Besides Salt and Abkari revenue, the Salt department also administered all the Customs out ports in the coastal areas and land customs stations.
In 1924, Salt revenue was separated from Salt and Abkari department of Madras Presidency.
A separate Salt department was carved out with Collector of Salt Revenue as the head. This department also looked after the Customs out ports. The Salt department located its Offices in various places like Triplicane, Cathedral Road and finally Sterling Road. There were 13 Customs Outports in the Madras Presidency at Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Portonovo, Vizagapatnam, Baindoor, Gangoli, Cannanore, Moolky, Badagara, Ponnani, Allepey, Quilon and Trivandrum.
The Salt Amendment Act transferred the Madras Salt Department to the administrative control of Government of India in 1926. This was a major milestone in the centralisation of Modern day Central Excise Department. In 1932, Rules were framed for the recruitment of Personnel for the Salt department. New uniforms were also prescribed during this period.
In 1930 Silver was made an excisable commodity. In 1931, Provisional Collection of Taxes Act was legislated. In 1934, more commodities were brought under the Tax like Iron and Steel, Matches, Sugar and Mechanical Lighters.
A Tariff Act was legislated in 1934. Elaborate procedures, rules and regulations were framed for assessment, levy and collection of duty on the new excisable commodities like matches and sugar.
During this time, the Central Board of Revenue was constituted in 1934. Collector of Salt Revenue, Madras looked after three fold functions i.e. administration of Salt Act under the Central Board of Revenue; administration of Excise on matches, sugar and other commodities under the provincial governments and administration of Customs Outports and Land Customs stations.
Now that many commodities came under the tax net the need for streamlining the system was felt acutely by the colonial government. The British constituted King's Committee to study the feasibility of centralising the administration of Central Excises under the Central Board of Revenue.
Mr. F.C. KING, was deputed by the British Government to study the feasibility of the Government of India taking over the administration of Central Excises from the Provincial Governments. Hitherto, the respective Provincial Governments administered the revenue department and the collection of tax from the various commodities. This report is of great historical importance as it gave broad insight into the then existing system and the guidelines to be followed to centralise the administration of Central Excise under the Government of India
The Madras Salt Department at that time had the administration of land Customs (and outports). The report had noted that the staff employed by the Madras Government for the purposes of the administration of the Central Excises was of the lowest grade (the report desired the upgradation of these posts in Madras Presidency when centrally taken over). Mr. Greenfield, then Collector of Salt Revenue, Madras, with whom Mr.King had consulted, had informed that Inspectors in every circle of his jurisdiction except Tuticorin circle are available to supervise the administration of Central Excises if entrusted to his Department.
The report had compared the system of assessment and control over sugar and match factories in the various provinces.
The total expenditure of collection of Central Excise was estimated to be about Rs.4,97,000/- per year. Consequent to the report, the administration of Central Excise was taken over from the provincial governments by the Madras Salt Department (under the control of Government of India) under the Central Board of Revenue.
Due to compulsion of War finance, the Government had to mobilize additional resources and took a bold decision of introducing excise levy on un-manufactured tobacco. Survey on feasibility of imposing excise duty on tobacco was made in 1942. The advent of excise on tobacco led to mass recruitment of personnel to cover every nook and corner of the country. The Madras Central Excise Collectorate at that time (1944) covered the whole of then Madras Presidency from Vijayanagaram in the North to Kanyakumari in the South and from Madras in the East to South Canara in the West. The Central Excises & Salt Act, 1944 also came into existence subsequently. It was on 24th February 1944 that the CESA was enacted and that is why we celebrate this day of February 24 as Central Excise Day.