12 An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to 3 duties of excise and to salt. WHEREAS it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating to 4 duties of excise on goods manufactured or produced, and services provided or rendered, in Bangladesh and to salt; It is hereby enacted as follows:-
(1) This Act may be called the 5 * Excises and Salt Act, 1944.
(2) It extends to the whole of Bangladesh 6except the areas of Export Processing Zones declared under section 10 of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority Act, 1980 (XXXVI of 1980).
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint in this behalf.
and the word “manufacturer” shall be construed accordingly and shall include not only a person who employs hired labour in the production or manufacture of excisable goods, but also any person who engages in their production or manufacture on his own account if those goods are intended for sale and, in respect of gold and silver and products thereof, steel furniture, fittings and fixtures, footwear, all sorts and wooden furniture, all sorts, also any person dealing in such excisable goods who, whether or not he carries out any process of manufacture himself or through his employees or relatives, gets either directly or indirectly, any process of manufacture carried out on his behalf by any person who is not in his employee and any person so dealing in such goods in any capacity whatever shall be deemed to have manufactured such goods for all purposes of this Act;
(1) There shall be levied and collected in such manner as may be prescribed duties of excise on all excisable goods, produced or manufactured, and on all excisable services provided or rendered, in Bangladesh, as, and at the rates, set forth in the First Schedule.
12Explanation.- For the purpose of levy and collection of duties under this section, classification and description of excisable goods shall be as per First Schedule of the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969).(2) The 13Board may, by notification in the official Gazette fix, for the purpose of levying the said duties, tariff values of any articles enumerated, either specifically or under general headings, in the First Schedule as chargeable with duty ad valorem and may alter any tariff values for the time being in force.
(3) Different tariff values may be fixed for different classes or descriptions of the same article.
14 15(4) With the prior approval of the Government, the 16Board may, in lieu of levying and collecting under subsection (1) duties of excise on excisable goods and services,by notification in the official Gazette, levy and collect duties on the capacity of plants, machinery, undertakings, establishments, installations or premises producing or manufacturing such goods, or providing or rendering such services; and such notifications shall specify-
(7) The 19Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, at any time, cancel a notification under sub-section (4); and where a notification is so cancelled or, for any reason
whatsoever, cannot be given effect to, the duty under sub-section (1), in lieu whereof the duty under sub-section (4) was levied by such notification, shall be levied and, with necessary adjustment, collected for the financial year during which such notification is cancelled or for the period for which it cannot be given effect to.
Explanation.- For the purposes of this sub-section, an order of a Court suspending or staying the collection of the whole or any part of the duty under sub-section (4) shall be deemed to be a reason for which a notification under sub-section (4) cannot be given effect to.
per cent. of the retail price and, in the case of services, not exceeding 2935 per cent of the charges for the services
30:Provided that, if the assessed amount has a fraction of less than five poisha, the assessment shall be rounded off to the next higher five poisha.
(2) Any notification issued under sub section (1) shall, if not earlier rescinded, stand rescinded on the expiry of the financial year during which it was issued.]
(2) In the cases specified in sub-section (1), the Commissioner of Excise shall, within 45 (forty five) working days from the date of hearing, serve a notice of the determination of duty upon such person, which shall, along with other necessary particulars, contain the following matters, namely—
(3) The Commissioner of Excise shall not make a determination of duty for a duty period at the expiry of 5 (five) years after such tax period, unless a person wil fully neglects or commits a fraud in order to evade payment of duty, conceals or distorts any information, and any other offences under Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012 (Act No. 47 of 2012).
(4) If a person fails to pay a payable duty on or before the due date of payment, he shall be liable to pay an interest at a simple rate of 2% (two percent) per month on the amount of payable duty, from the next day, after the date such payment becomes due until the date the payment is made.
(5) Nothing in this section shall prevent a Commissioner of Excise from imposing a fine mentioned in section 9.
(1) Where under this Act any article is chargeable with duty at a rate dependent on the value of the article, such value shall be deemed to be the wholesale cash price for which an article of the like kind and quality is sold or is capable of being sold to the general body of retail traders or, if there is no general boy of retail traders, the general body of consumers on the day on which the article which is being assessed to duty is removed from the factory or warehouse, as the case may be, without any abatement or deduction whatever except the amounts of duty and sales tax then payable.
(2) Where under this Act any article is chargeable with duty at a rate dependent on the retail price of the article, the retail price shall be the price fixed by the manufacturer, inclusive of all charges and taxes, at which any particular brand or variety of such article should be sold to the general body of consumers or, if more than one such price is so fixed for the same brand or variety, the highest such price.
(3) Where under this Act any services, facilities and utilities are subject to duty at a rate dependent on the charges therefore and-
Explanation.- For the purpose of clause (a),-
[Power of Government to impose Customs duty on goods mentioned in the First Schedule.- Omitted by section 3 and the Second Schedule of the Bangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973 (Act No. VIII of 1973).]
The 35Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, provide that, from such date as may be specified in the notification, no person shall, except under the authority and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a licence granted
under this Act, engage in-
Every licence under section 6 shall be granted for such area, if any, for such period, subject to such restrictions and conditions, and in such form and containing such particulars, as may be prescribed.
From such date as may be specified in this behalf by the 36Board by notification in the official Gazette, no person shall, except as provided by rules made under this Act, have in his possession any excisable goods specified in this behalf in Part B of the Second Schedule in excess of such quantity as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section as the maximum amount of such goods or of any variety of such goods which may be possessed at any one time by such a person.
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898) offences under section 9 shall be deemed to be non-cognizable within the meaning of that Code.
(1) In any prosecution for an offence under this Act or the rules presumption made thereunder which requires a culpable mental state on the part of accused, the Court shall presume the existence of such mental state but it shall be a defence for the accused to prove the fact that he had no such mental state with respect to the act charged as an offence in that prosecution.
Explanation.- In this sub-section, “culpable mental state” includes intention, motive, knowledge of a fact, and belief in, or reason to believe, a fact.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a fact is said to be proved only when the Court believes it to exist beyond reasonable doubt and not merely when its existence is established by a preponderance of probability.
(1) A statement made and signed by a person before any Excise Officer not below the rank of Superintendent during the course of any inquiry or proceeding under this Act shall be relevant, for the purpose of proving, in any prosecution for an offence under this Act, the truth of the facts which it contains-
(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall, so far as may be, apply in relation to any proceedings under this Act, other than a proceeding before a Court, as they apply in relation to a proceeding before a Court.
(1) Where any person is convicted under this Act for contravention of any of the provisions thereof, the Court convicting the person shall be competent to cause the name and place of business or residence of such person, nature of the contravention, the fact that the person has been so convicted and such other particulars the Court may consider to be appropriate in the circumstances of the case, to be published at the expense of such person, in such newspapers or in such other manner as the Court may direct.
(2) No publication under sub-section (1) shall be made until the period for preferring an appeal against the orders of the Court has expired without any appeal having been preferred, or such an appeal, having been preferred, has been disposed of.
(3) The expenses of any publication under sub-section (1) shall be recoverable from the convicted person as if it were a fine imposed by the Court.]
Any Court trying an offence under this Chapter may order the forfeiture to Government of any goods in respect of which the Court is satisfied that an offence under this Chapter has been committed, and may also order the forfeiture of any receptacles, packages or coverings in which such goods are contained and the animals, vehicles, vessels or other conveyances used in carrying the goods, and any implements or machinery used in the manufacture of the goods.
(2) If the amount is not recovered from such person in the manner provided in sub-section (1), the Excise Officer may prepare a certificate signed by him specifying the amount due from the person liable to pay the same and send it to the Deputy Collector (DC) in which such person resides or owns any property or conducts his business and the said Collector shall, on receiving such certificate, proceed to recover the amount specified in the certificate as a public demand or as if it were an arrear of land revenue.
(3) The Government may appoint one or more officers to exercise the powers of a Certificate-officer under the Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913(Bengal Act III of 1913) for the purpose of recovering the amount specified in a certificate prepared under sub-section (2), and when more than one Certificate-officers are so appointed the Government may also specify their territorial or other jurisdiction.
The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare that any of the provisions of the 41Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), hereinafter referred to as the Customs Act, relating to the levy of and exemption from customs duties, draw back of duty, warehousing, offences and penalties, confiscation, and procedure relating to offences and appeals shall, with such modifications and alterations as it may consider necessary or desirable to adapt them to the circumstances, be applicable in regard to like matters in respect of the duties imposed by section 3 42or section 3A.
(2) The 44Board may, by special order in each case, exempt from the payment of the whole or any part of the duty leviable under this Act, under circumstances of an exceptional nature to be stated, in such order, any goods 45or services on which such duty is leviable.
An Excise Officer appointed under section 13 shall exercise such powers and discharge such duties as are conferred or imposed on him by or under this Act; and he shall also be competent to exercise all powers and discharge all duties conferred or imposed upon any officer subordinate to him:
Provided that, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or the rules, the Board may, by general of special order, impose such limitations or conditions in the exercise of such powers and discharge of such duties as it thinks fit.
The Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, entrust, either conditionally or unconditionally, any functions of any Excise Officer under this Act or the rules to any officer of the Government.
The Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, and subject to such limitations or conditions, if any, as may be specified therein, empower by name or designation-
(1) Any Excise Officer duly empowered by the Board in this behalf may arrest any person whom he has reason to believe to be liable to punishment under this Act.
(2) Any person accused or reasonably suspected of committing an offence under this Act or any rules made thereunder, who on demand of any officer duly empowered by the Board in this behalf refuses to give his name and residence, or who gives a name or residence, which such Officer has reason to believe to be false, may be arrested by such officer in order that his name and residence may be ascertained.]
(1) Any 65Excise Officer duly empowered by the 66Board in this behalf shall have power to summon any person whose attendance he considers necessary either to give evidence or to produce a document or any other thing in any inquiry which such officer is making for any of the purposes of this Act. A summons to produce documents or other things may be for the production of certain specified documents or things or for the production of all documents or things of a certain
description in the possession or under the control of the person summoned.
(2) All persons so summoned shall be bound to attend, either in person or by an authorised agent, as such officer may direct; and all persons so summoned shall be bound to state the truth upon any subject respecting which they are examined or make statements and to produce such documents and other things as may be required:
Provided that the exemptions under sections 132 and 133 of the Code of Civil Procedure, shall be applicable to requisitions for attendance under this section.
(3) Every such inquiry as aforesaid shall be deemed to be a “judicial proceeding” within the meaning of section 193 and section 228 of the 67Penal Code.
All officers of 69Police, Customs, Commerce, Industry and Food and all officers of Government engaged in the collection of land revenue, and all village officers are hereby empowered and required to assist the 70Excise Officers in the execution of this Act.
Every owner or occupier of land, the agent of any such owner or occupier, in charge of the management of that land, if contraband excisable goods are manufactured thereon, shall in the absence of reasonable excuse be bound to give notice of such manufacture to a Magistrate, or to an officer of the 71Excise, Customs, Police, or Land Revenue Department, immediately the fact comes to his knowledge.
Any owner or occupier of land or any agent of such owner or occupier in charge of the management of that land, who wilfully connives at any offence against the provisions of this Act or of any rules made thereunder shall for every such offence be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred Taka, or with both.
All searches made under this Act or any rules made thereunder and all arrests made under this Act shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, relating respectively to searches and arrests made under that Code.
Every person arrested under this Act shall be forwarded without delay to the nearest 72Excise Officer empowered to send persons so arrested to a Magistrate, or, if there is no such 73Excise Officer within a reasonable distance, to the officer in charge of the nearest police-station.
The officer in charge of a police station to whom any person is forwarded under section 19 shall either admit him to bail to appear before the Magistrate having jurisdiction, or in default of bail forward him in custody to such Magistrate.
(1) When any person is forwarded under section 19 to a 75Excise Officer empowered to send persons so arrested to a Magistrate, the 76Excise Officer shall proceed to inquire into the charge against him.
(2) For this purpose the 77Excise Officer may exercise the same powers and shall be subject to the same provisions as the officer in charge of a police station may exercise and is subject to under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, when investigating a cognizable case:
Provided that-
Any 82Excise or other officer exercising powers under this Act or under the rules made thereunder who
shall, for every such offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to two thousand Taka.
Any person wilfully and maliciously giving false information and so causing an arrest or a search to be made under this Act shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two thousand Taka or with imprisonment for a term which extend to two years or with both.
Any 84Excise Officer who ceases or refuses to perform or withdraws himself from the duties of his office, unless he has obtained the express written permission of the 85 86Commissioner of Excise, or has given to his superior officer two months' notice in writing of his intention or has other lawful excuse, shall on conviction before a Magistrate be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to three months' pay, or with both.
When any excisable goods are carried by sea in any vessel other than a vessel of the burden of three hundred tons and upwards, the owner and master of such vessel shall each be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand Taka, or with both.
Nothing in section 24 applies to-
When any officer empowered by the 89Board, to act under this section has reason to believe, from personal knowledge or from information taken down in writing, that any excisable goods are being carried, or have within the previous twenty four hours been carried, in any vessel so as to render the owner or master of such vessel liable to the penalties imposed by section 24, he may require such vessel to be brought to and thereupon may-
Any master of a vessel refusing or neglecting to bring to the vessel or to produce his papers when required to do so by an officer acting under section 26, and any person obstructing any such officer in the performance of his duty, may be arrested by such officer without a warrant, and shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to one thousand Taka, or with both.
(1) Every vessel (including all appurtenances) in which any excisable goods are carried so as to render the owner or master of such vessel liable to penalties imposed by section 24, the cargo on board such vessel and the excisable goods in respect of which an offence under this Act has been committed shall be liable to confiscation on the orders of the officer empowered in this behalf by the 90Board.
(2) Whenever any Customs officer is satisfied that any article is liable to confiscation under this section he may seize such article, and shall at once report the seizure to his superior officer for the information of the officer empowered to order confiscation under sub section (1) and such officer may, if satisfied on such report or after making such inquiry as he thinks fit, that the article so seized is liable to confiscation, either declare it to be confiscated, or impose a fine in lieu thereof not exceeding the value of the article.
Any offence punishable under section 24 or section 27 may be deemed to have been committed within the limits of the jurisdiction of the Magistrate of any place where the offender is found, or to which, if arrested under section 26 or section 27, he may be brought.
The 91Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, exempt the carriage of excisable goods within any local limits or in any class of vessels from the operation of this Chapter, and, by like notification, again subject such carriage to the operation of this Chapter.
The proprietor of a private salt factory who has by virtue of a sanad granted by the Government or any former Government, a special and permanent right to manufacture salt, or to excavate or collect natural salt, shall on application made in accordance with the rules made under this Act be entitled to a licence for such purpose and to the annual renewal thereof, unless on a breach of the provisions of this Act, his licence has been cancelled by an officer duly empowered by the 92Board in this behalf.
[Rights of ordinary proprietors of existing salt-works.- Omitted by section 3 and the Second Schedule of the Bangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973 (Act No. VIII of 1973).]
Where by the rules made under this Act 94in case anything is liable to confiscation or any person is liable to a penalty, such 95case may be adjudged-
Wherever confiscation is adjudged under this Act or the rules made thereunder, the officer adjudging it 103may give the owner of the goods an option to pay in lieu of confiscation such fine as the officer thinks fit in addition to any duty and other charges due in respect of the goods.
(1A) Upon receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1),-
Provided that no order imposing or enhancing any penalty or fine or requiring payment of a greater amount of duty than has been adjudged in the decision or order appealed against shall be passed by the appellate authority unless the person affected has been given an opportunity of showing cause against it and of being heard:
Provided further that the appellate authority may admit an appeal after the expiration of the aforesaid period, not exceeding two months from the date of such expiration, if he is satisfied that the appellant has sufficient cause for not preferring it within that period;
Provided the where, in any particular case, the appellate authority is of the opinion that deposit of duty demanded or penalty levied will cause undue hardship to the appellant, it may dispense with such deposit, either unconditionally or on such conditions as it may deem fit to impose.
(2) No appeal under sub-section (1) shall lie in any case after the 109Board has initiated any proceedings under section 35A in respect of such case.
110(3) Every appeal which is pending immediately before the appointed day before the Board under section 35 of this Act, as it stood immediately before that day, and any matter arising out of or connected with such appeal and which is so pending shall stand transferred on that day to the Appellate Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal will dispose of such appeal or matter, as par as practicable, in accordance with the provisions laid down in section 196J of the Customs Act.(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, an appeal under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to have been allowed if the appellate authority fails to make a decision or order thereon within a period of six months from the date the appeal was preferred.
Explanation.- For the purposes of this section, “appointed day” means the 1st day of October, 1995.
Provided that no order imposing or enhancing any penalty or fine or requiring payment of a greater amount of duty shall be passed by the Board unless the person affected by the proposed order has been given an opportunity of showing cause against it and of being heard.
(2) No decision or order shall be revised under this section after the expiry of three years from the date of such decision or order.
(3) No proceeding under sub-section (1) shall be initiated in a case where an appeal under sub-section (1) of section 35 is pending except after the disposal of such appeal.
Provided that no such rectification which has the effect of enhancing any penalty or fine or requiring the payment of a greater amount of duty shall be made unless the person affected by the proposed rectification has been given an opportunity of being heard.
(2) No order under this section shall be passed after the expiry of three years from the date of passing of the order which is sought to be rectified.
(3) No proceedings under sub-section (1) shall be initiated in a case where an application under section 36 has been made, and, where any such application is pending, the proceeding so initiated shall abate.
The Government may on the application of any person aggrieved by any decision or order passed under section 35 or 35A 117or 35B, if such application is made within a period of one hundred and twenty days from the date of the decision or order, pass such order in relation thereto as it thinks fit:
Provided that no order imposing or enhancing any penalty or fine or requiring payment of a greater amount of duty than has been determined in the decision or order in respect of which the application has been made shall be passed unless the person affected has been given an opportunity of showing cause against it and of being heard 118:
Provided further that the Government may admit an application after the expiration of the aforesaid period, not exceeding one hundred and twenty days from the date of such expiration, if the Government is satisfied that the appellant has sufficient cause for not presenting the application within that period.
(2) No person who has been dismissed from Government service shall be qualified to represent a person under sub-section (1); and if any lawyer or excise consultant is found guilty of misconduct in connection with any excise proceedings by the authority empowered to take disciplinary action against members of the profession to which he belongs, or if any other person is found guilty of such misconduct by the 121Commissioner of Excise, the 122Commissioner of Excise may direct that he shall be thenceforward disqualified to represent a person under sub-section (1):
Provided that-
Provided that no such rectification which has the effect of enhancing any penalty or fine or requiring the payment of a greater amount of duty shall be made unless the person affected by the proposed rectification has been given an opportunity of being heard.
(2) No order under this section shall be passed after the expiry of three years from the date of the passing of the order which is sought to be rectified.
(1) The 126Board may make rules to carry into effect the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may-
Provided that the fees for the licensing of the manufacture and refining of salt and saltpetre shall not exceed, in the case of each such licence, the following amounts, namely:-
| Taka | ||
| Licence to manufacture and refine saltpetre and to separate and purify salt in the process of such manufacture and refining | … | 50 |
| Licence to manufacture saltpetre | … | 2 |
| Licence to manufacture sulphate of soda (Kharinun) by solar heat in evaporating pans | … | 10 |
| Licence to manufacture sulphate of soda (Kharinun) by artificial heat | … | 2 |
| Licence to manufacture other saline substances | … | 2 |
| (xiii) provide for the detention of goods, plant, machinery or material, for the purpose of exacting the duty, the procedure in connection with the confiscation, otherwise than under section 10 or section 28, of goods in respect of which breaches of the Act or rules have been committed, and the disposal of goods so detained or confiscated; | |
| (xiv) authorise and regulate the inspection of any premises where any excisable services are provided or rendered or of factories and provide for the taking of samples, and for the making of tests, of any substance produced therein, and for the inspection or search of any place or conveyance used for the production, storage, sale or transport of salt, and so far as such inspection or search is essential for the proper levy and collection of the duties imposed by this Act, of any other excisable goods; |
| (xv) authorise and regulate the composition of offences against, or liabilities incurred, under this Act or the rules made thereunder; |
| (xvi) provide for permission to export goods on payment of duty or otherwise, and for the grant of rebate, on any basis, of the whole or any part of the duty paid on or in respect of any excisable goods which are exported or which are used in the manufacture of any other goods which are exported out of Bangladesh or shipped as provisions or stores for consumption on board a ship or aircraft proceeding to any destination outside Bangladesh; |
| 134 * |
| (xviii) define an area no point in which shall be more than one hundred yards from the nearest point of any place in which salt is stored or sold by or on behalf of the Government, or of any factory in which saltpetre is manufactured or refined and regulate the possession, storage and sale of salt within such area; |
| (xix) define an area around any other place in which salt is manufactured, and regulate the possession, storage and sale of salt within such area; |
| (xx) authorise the 135Commissioner of Excise appointed for the purposes of this Act to provide, by written instructions, for supplemental matters arising out of any rule made under this section. |
| (3) In making rules under this section, the 136Board may provide that any person committing a breach of any rule shall, without prejudice to any other action that may by taken against him under this Act, be liable to a penalty not exceeding 137ten thousand taka or ten times the amount of duty involved whichever is greater and that any article in respect of which any such breach is committed shall be confiscated. |
All rules made and notifications issued under this Act shall be made and issued by publication in the official Gazette. All such rules and notifications shall thereupon have effect as if enacted in this Act 138.
[Repeal of enactments.- Omitted by section 3 and the Second Schedule of the Bangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973 (Act No. VIII of 1973).]
(1) No suit shall be brought in any civil Court to set aside or modify any order passed, or any assessment, levy or collection any duty, under this Act.
(2) No suit, prosecution, or other legal proceeding shall be instituted for anything done or ordered to be done under this Act after the expiration of six months from the accrual of the cause of action or from the date of the act or order complained of.
(3) No suit shall lie against the Government or against any officer of the Government in respect of any order passed in good faith or any act in good faith done or ordered to be done under this Act.