To amend the provisions of the Sugar Cess Act of 1982, the present, The Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill of 2015 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the year 2015 on 15th day of December. This Bill is brought mainly to amend the said Original law on the levy of Sugar Cess. The said original Act is enabling the Central Government to impose and collect the Cess as a duty of excise for the purposes of the Sugar Development Fund. However, it was seen that the ceiling specified is rupees twenty- five per quintal of sugar and the cess was imposed and collected at the rate of rupees twenty- four per quintal. However, it was later considered in the year 2015 that there was felt a need for enhancement of the accruals into the Sugar Development Fund from cess, for the committed expenditure on account of various interventions undertaken for facilitating the liquidation of arrears of cane dues. Thus, the said enhancement in the rate of cess rate was necessitate and thus, the by brining this Bill, the present ceiling of cess is proposed to be enhanced from rupees Twenty- Five to rupees Two Hundred per quintal of sugar.
Moreover, the Bill is comprising of only two clauses, and its first clause is speaking about its title and also it is speaking for its commencement. However, its most important amending provision is contained under its second clause, where the section 3 of the Original Act of 1982 sought to be modified to enter the words ‘Two Hundred rupees’ in place of the words ‘Twenty- Five rupees’.
Thus, the proposed amendments are specially brought in picture to increase the cess rate and it will also be for meeting the expenditure of the Government, as said herein above for interventions to ensure payment of dues to sugarcane farmers. And notably, on 15th day of December, 2015, Lok Sabha passed the Bill and finally it was assented by the President of India and this bill become the legislation and the said proposed rate of cess is made applicable, with the said amendment.
Adv. Faim Khalilkhan Pathan