FM moves amended Excise Tariff Bill in LS

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday introduced the Excise Tariff (Amendment) Bill, ’04, in the Lok Sabha to usher in a common commodity classification and expand the six-digit classification into eight-digit classification.

The proposed amendment will not change the existing rates of central excise duties and hence has no revenue implications, according to the statement of objects and reasons of the bill. The eight-digit classification will remove glitches arising from divergence in classification by different departments and agencies and also facilitate international trade.

The eight digit classification is already in place for customs and DGFT. It will also help in collection and compilation of specific data on commodities of special significance to India, and sharing such data among various agencies.

Further, it will facilitate effective computerisation of tax administration and electronic data processing, which necessarily requires common commodity classification code.