Union Cabinet approves amendments to Customs and Excise Act to facilitate GST Regime

The Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the Customs and Excise Acts related to abolition of cesses and surcharges on various goods and services to facilitate implementation of GST Regime
Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. It has approved the following proposals:

• Amendment to Customs Act, 1962;
• Amendment to Central Excise Act, 1944.
• Amendments to Customs Tariff Act, 1975.
• Repeal of Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 and
• Amendment/repeal of the provisions relating to Acts under which cesses are levied.

Comment

• The amendments in Customs Act, 1962 will allow furnishing of information relating to import or export of goods by specified persons to enable analysis and detection of cases of under or over-valuation in imports and exports.
• It also aims to check misuse of export promotion schemes, including Drawback Scheme and violations of provisions of Customs Act and various other laws which Customs officials have been authorised to implement.
• The amendments or repealing of various provisions of other Acts which in the GST regime will result in cleansing of the irrelevant portions from the Statute Book and reduce multiplicity of taxes.

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2017