Agricultural grade zinc sulphate - section 11C exemption- who pays for government's mistakes?
Agricultural grade zinc sulphate ordinarily used as micronutrient classified under chapter 28 attracted NIL rate of duty prior to 1st Jan, 2007. Due to changes made in Central Excise Tariff w.e.f . 1.1.2007 the said product attracted full rate of duty. However it has been exempted vide Notification No. 36/2007-CE dated 9th Oct., 2007.
But what happens for the period between 1.1.2007 and 8.10.2007? Obviously the Government had no intention of collecting this duty during this period, but the fact remains that there was no exemption during this period. Why? The Government was not careful while bringing in the 8 digit tariff. And who suffers? Invariably the poor assessee. When they give an exemption notification after realising that there was a mistake, why can't they immediately issue a section 11C Notification for the period not covered?
It is not as simple as you think! The exemption notification is manufactured by TRU , but the Section 11C notification is produced in another factory/section - And rarely do they meet. Before giving a Section 11C Notification, Board should get a representation that there was a mistake on the part of the Board for which the assessee may kindly be pardoned by the benign Board. Then the Board should get a report from all the Chief Commissioners as to how many units had not paid how much duty which they were not required to pay and how many SCNs were issued, how many adjudicated, how many yet to be adjudicated, how much duty realised ....... After compiling all the data, the Board will invariably make an exemption notification for the uncovered period. Why can't all this be avoided and the great Section 11C notification issued along with the original notification or even as part of it? But that is not how the government works. A friend tells me the scheme is "food for work" - to keep the army of babudom active and alive, you need such procedures. And now the Board has called for these particulars.
But it is ungrateful and unfair for DDT to write about all this. What would this column contain if the bureaucracy had a little concern for the taxpaying citizens?
In case you don't remember what a Section 11C Notification is, it is a notification granting exemption for a past period when no duty should have been actually levied.
F No. -3 Dated : November 8, 2007