Budget Notifications - Despicable Confusion at Top
IT is certainly understandable that in making and amending large number of notifications, they are bound to make mistakes, but the way they try to cover up their mistakes is really appalling.
Here is an example:
The issue is Sl. No. 15 of Notification No. 18/2012–CE dated 17.03.2012. Sl.No 15 in this notification as uploaded in the site http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2012-13/cen/ce1812.pdf is as given below.
Sl. No | Chapter or heading or sub-heading or tariff item of the First Schedule | Rate |
15. | 2710 12 11 to 2710 12 90, 2710 20 00 | 14% + Rs 15 per litre |
This Indiabudget.nic.in is the official website of Government of India and the budget was uploaded in that site minutes after the FM finished reading his budget speech. The CBEC website also showed it exactly like this after the budget. And everybody believed that the effective rate of duty is 14% + 15 rupees per litre. The items are motor spirit and petro products. The Oil refineries thought their refineries were on fire and made frantic phone calls. This meant an additional payment of duty of Rs. 15 per litre of petrol – refineries would have closed down or petrol would have cost more than a hundred rupees per litre. In one Commissionerate, they were told that they have to pay the duty at the new rates as per the notification from 17.03.2012. In fact, the tariff rate is also same; so there was no need for this notification.
Then came the tinkering! Board coolly deleted the Rs. 15 from the notification in its website and so the CBEC website showed it as follows after a week or so.
Sl. No | Chapter or heading or sub-heading or tariff item of the First Schedule | Rate |
15. | 2710 12 11 to 2710 12 90, 2710 20 00 | 14% |
In the meantime, a leading publisher in the print media known for his astonishing accuracy, had printed his tariff book which showed the rate as 14%+ Rs. 15 per litre. When I pointed out to him the error, he told me that he had a signed printed copy of the notification - but in this electronic age, you can change your notifications retrospectively without anyone realising it! And that is what exactly the Board did. But very late, they realised that somebody would have printed copies and they could not get the change carried out in Indiabudget.nic.in. It still shows the Rs. 15.
So, now they have issued a notification amending Notification No. 18/2012-CE to delete the controversial Rs. 15 from the Notification. Finally, this is how the notification would read:
Sl. No | Chapter or heading or sub-heading or tariff item of the First Schedule | Rate |
15. | 2710 12 11 to 2710 12 90, 2710 20 00 | 14% |
But, this amendment is made on 30.03.2012. So from 17.03.2012 to 29.03.2012, the rate of duty was 14% + Rs. 15 per litre and all oil companies will have to pay a differential duty of Rs. 15 per litre for their clearances during that period. This will run into thousands of Crores!
Maybe Board will come up with a Section 11C Notification, but till then, Show Cause Notices, adjudications, appeals – all for nothing!
If this is how the Apex Board works, can you blame the field staff for minor misdemeanour?
If an assessee does this kind of tinkering with his records, he will be called an evader and imposed mandatory penalty.
Notification No. , Dated: March 30, 2012