AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY FINANCE BILL, 2008 AT A GLANCE

Section	Effective date of proposed amendment	Nature of proposed amendment	Effect of proposed amendment
1	2	3	4

CENTRAL EXCISE ACT
2	Explanation after clause (d) proposed to be inserted	Section 2 is proposed to be amended with a view to insert an Explanation in clause (d) which defines "excisable goods". The proposed Explanation provides that for the purposes of this clause, "goods" includes any article, material or substance which is capable of being bought and sold for consideration and such goods shall be deemed to be marketable. It will remove the ambiguity occurred due to the judgments in certain cases regarding the marketability of goods and it will be applicable prospectively.
3A	Proposed to be inserted	New section 3A is proposed to be inserted. The proposed section empowers the Central Government to charge excise duty on the basis of capacity of production in respect of notified goods. The proposed section provides that the Central Government shall notify the goods on which the duty of excise shall be levied and collected and it shall also make rules in respect of the manner for determination of the annual capacity of production of the factory, in which the notified goods are produced, the factor relevant to the production of notified goods and quantity thereof and the determination of the annual capacity of production of the factory in which such goods are produced and rate of duty of excise on the goods to be levied subject to the condition that where the factory producing notified goods is in operation only for a part of the year, or if it remains closed for a certain period, such determination shall be made on proportionate basis. Further, the proposed amendment provides that the provisions of this section shall not be applicable to goods produced or manufactured by a hundred per cent, export-oriented undertaking and brought to any other place in India.
11B	Certain words proposed to be substituted in sub-section (1); certain words proposed to be substituted in clauses (b), (d), (e) and (f) of first proviso to sub-section (2)	Section 11B is proposed to be amended to provide for the refund of interest paid on any duty of excise.
11D	Sub-section (1A) proposed to be inserted; certain words proposed to be substituted in sub-section (2); certain words proposed to be substituted in sub-section (4)	Section 11D is proposed to be amended so as to insert a new sub-section in section 11D to enable the Central Government to collect any amount collected by any person representing as duty of excise in excess of the duty assessed or determined and paid on any excisable goods, and also to collect any amount collected by any person as representing duty of excise on any excisable goods, which are wholly exempt or are chargeable to nil rate of duty. Accordingly, certain consequential amendments have been made in sub-sections (2) and (4) of the said section.
11DD(1)	Certain words proposed to be substituted	Section 11DD is proposed to be amended so as to provide for recovery of interest on amount collected in excess of the duty assessed or determined and paid from the person who collected such amount, and also provide for recovery of interest on the amount collected by any person as representing duty of excise on any excisable goods, which are wholly exempt or are chargeable to nil rate of duty.
35B(2)	Proviso and Explanation proposed to be inserted	Sub-section (2) of section 35B is proposed to be amended by inserting a proviso so as to provide that in case the Committee of Commissioners of Central Excise differs in its opinion on the order passed in an appeal by the Commissioner (Appeals), it shall refer the matter to the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner who shall consider the facts of the case and the points of difference and if he is of the opinion that the order passed by the Commissioner of Central Excise is not legal or proper, direct the Central Excise Officer to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against the order of the Commissioner (Appeals). The jurisdictional Chief Commissioner shall be the Chief Commissioner having jurisdiction over the adjudicating authority who has decided the case.
35E	Proviso proposed to be inserted in sub-section (1); sub-section (3) proposed to be substituted	Section 35E is proposed to be amended with a view to,— (i) insert a proviso to sub-section (1) so as to provide that in case the Committee of Chief Commissioners of Central Excise differs in its opinion about the legality or propriety of the order passed by the Commissioner of Central Excise as an adjudicating authority, it shall refer the matter to the Board which shall consider the facts of the case and the difference between them and if it is of the opinion that the order passed by the Commissioner is not legal or proper, direct the Commissioner or any other Commissioner to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against the order. (ii) substitute sub-section (3) to provide that every order under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 35E shall be made within a period of three months from the date of communication of the decision or the order of the adjudicating authority. The proposed amendment is of consequential nature in view of amendment in sub-section (1) of section 35E
35FF	Proposed to be inserted	New section 35FF is proposed to be inserted to provide for payment of interest in case of delayed refund of amount deposited by the appellant in pursuance of the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) or the Appellate Tribunal, when the decision is in favour of the appellant. It provides that in case the amount is not refunded within three months from the communication of the order of the appellate authority, unless the order of the appellate authority is stayed by a superior court or tribunal, interest at the rate specified in section 11BB shall be paid after the expiry of three months from the communication of the order of the appellate authority till the date of refund of the amount.
CENTRAL EXCISE TARIFF ACT
First Schedule	Proposed to be amended	First Schedule is proposed to be amended with a view to,— (i) enhance the rate of duty on certain items in Chapter 24 and Chapter 25; (ii) amend Note 16 of Chapter 39 with a view to insert two more processes therein; (iii) enhance the rate of duty on an item in Chapter 85.