Chapter V EXCISE DUTY

An excise duty or countervailing duty, as the case may be, at such rate or rates as the State Government shall by rules direct, may be imposed either generally or for any specified area, on any excisable article, when imported, exported, transported, possessed, manufactured or sold, in or from the State, as the case may be: Provided that no duty shall be so imposed on any article which has been imported into the territory of India and so liable on such importation to duty under the Indian Tariff Act, 1934 (Central Act XXXII of 1934), or the Customs Act, 1962 (Central Act 52 of 1962). Explanation.—Duty may be imposed under this section at different rates according to places to which an excisable article is to be removed for consumption or according to the varying strengths or quality of such article.

Duties shall be levied as prescribed in the Act or rules. Subject to such rules regulating the time, place and manner of payment as may be made by the State Government in this behalf, the duties referred to in section 51 may be levied in one or more of the following ways:— (a) in the case of an excisable article imported,- (i) by payment either in the State at the time of its import or in the State or territory of export at the time of its export; or (ii) by payment upon issue for sale from a warehouse established or licensed under the provisions of this Act; (b) in the case of an excisable article exported, by payment in the State at the time of its export, or in the State or territory of import; (c) in the case of an excisable article transported,- (i) by payment in the district from which they are transported; or (ii) by payment upon issue for sale from a warehouse established or licensed under the provisions of this Act; (d) in the case of spirit or beer manufactured in any distillery established or any distillery or brewery licensed under this Act,- (i) by a rate charged upon the quantity produced in or issued from the distillery or brewery, as the case may be, or issued from a warehouse established or licensed under this Act; or (ii) by a rate charged in accordance with such scale of equivalents calculated on the quantity of materials used or by the degree of attenuation of the wash or wort, as the case may be, as the State Government may prescribe; (e)in the case of intoxicating drugs manufactured in the State, by payment upon quantities produced or manufactured or issued from a warehouse established or licensed under this Act: Provided that where payment is made upon issue for sale from a warehouse established or licensed under this Act, such payment shall be at the rate of duty enforced on the date of issue from the warehouse: Provided further that where one and the same person is permitted— (i) to manufacture or import and to sell, or (ii) to manufacture and export, country liquor or any intoxicant, -such duty may be levied in consideration of the joint privileges granted, as the Deputy Commissioner deems fit.

Subject to such rules as shall be made by the State Government in this behalf, the Commissioner may remit or refund wholly or partially any fee in respect of any privilege, licence, permit, pass or authorisation granted under this Act, or duty on toddy-producing trees or excise duty or fee leviable under this Act on any intoxicants, hemp, mhowra flowers or molasses from any person, or institution or class of persons or institutions or exempt such person or institution from the payment of such duty or fee.

Stock declarations may be required for articles falling under section 16. Every person, who imports or manufactures any of the articles mentioned in section 16 shall,- (a) submit to the Deputy Commissioner within such period and in such form, as may be prescribed, a declaration of the quantity of such article in his possession on the importation or manufacture of the said article, as the case may be; (b) maintain accounts of the articles in such form and submit such returns as may be prescribed.

Officers are authorized to obtain information and search premises for excisable articles. The Deputy Commissioner or any officer empowered by the State Government in this behalf, may subject to such conditions as may be prescribed,- (a) require, by order, any person liable to pay any excise duty or fee under this Chapter, to furnish him with any information or to produce before him any accounts or other documents concerning any excisable article as may be necessary for the purposes of this Chapter; (b) inspect at all reasonable hours the accounts or other documents relating to the stocks of any excisable article imported or manufactured or stored in respect of which such duty or fee has been paid or is payable and any place where such article is manufactured or stored; (c) enter, for reasons to be recorded in writing, any such place where he knows, or has reason to believe, that any excisable article in respect of which such duty or fee has not been paid, is being imported or manufactured or stored and search for the same and seize any stocks of such article found therein and detain the same until such time as proof of payment of such duty or fee is produced or such further time, as may be necessary for taking action under section 94, 95 or 96 or for prosecuting for an offence under section 68.

Duties due shall be recovered as an arrear of land revenue. All duties, taxes, fines (except fines imposed by a Court) and fees leviable under any of the foregoing provisions of this Act or of any licence, permit, pass or authorisation granted under it, may be recovered from any person liable to pay the same or from his surety, if any, as if they were arrears of land revenue.