Where is 12.5% Excise Duty Notification?
It was announced that excise duty has been enhanced to 12.5% and it has immediate effect. People started looking for the notification for the 12.5% rate and the effective date. Some assessees told us that in 2012 there was a Notification No. 18/2012 dated 17.03.2012, making the effective rate of duty at 12%. We had a difficult time explaining to several people that the 12.5% rate has been proposed in the Finance Bill 2015. But they believed that the Finance Bill will become effective only after enactment - we had to tell them about the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, by which an increase in Excise and Customs duties will have immediate effect. But then is it effective from 11 a.m of 28th February when the Budget was presented? In fact a Chartered Accountant even wrote an article for us that 12.5% is effective from 28th February, but the exemption to education cess by Notification No. 14/2015-CE dated 1.3.2015, was effective from 1.3.2015. So, he stated that for clearances on 28th February 2015, there was no exemption from Education Cess, but the 12.5% rate would be applicable. No, sir - immediate effect does not mean immediately after presentation of the Budget. As per the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, it means immediately on the expiry of the day on which the Bill is introduced in the Parliament. So, the 12.5% rate as well as the Education Cess exemption is applicable only from 1.3.2015. It is reiterated that excise duty has been enhanced to 12.5% by the Finance Bill and there is no education Cess on this and this is applicable from 1.3.2015.