Central Excise Day is celebrated annually to honor the contribution of the “Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs” (CBIC) for the country.
By celebrating this day, we give honor to the services of every individual or officer, who is part of this most important department of the government.
This is celebrated to encourage the people associated with the department to keep continuing their exceptional work with utmost sincerity for the development of the country.
Central Excise Day History
Central Excise Day is celebrated on 24th Feb every year to commemorate the legislation of Central Excise and Salt Act, which was passed on the same date in 1944.
The act was passed to consolidate and do amendments in the law related to Central duties and salt. It was a combination of 11 acts regarding excise duties.
Later in 1996, this act was renamed as The Central Excise Act 1944. Schedules 1 and 2 of this act prescribe rules regarding values and rate of duties.
According to the original act, there were 67 items on which excise duties were levied. In 1975, the 68th item was also introduced as “all other goods not elsewhere specified”, which basically meant the “Terror Items”.
Later in 1985, a new act named “The Central Excise Tariff Act (CETA) 1985” was introduced. This was incorporated in the old Central Excise Act 1944 and after this reform, an amended Central Excise Act, 1944 came into being.
The responsibility of collecting the duties were given to the Central Excise Officer. The central Excise Law which is an important part of this act is administered by the Central Board of Excise and Customs.
About Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes, which was earlier known as “The Central Board of Excise Taxes” is a governmental body responsible for administering Customs, GST, Central Excise, Service Tax and Narcotics in India.
The Customs & Central Excise Department, which is one of the oldest departments of India was established by the then British Governor of India.
It was formed to administer customs law in India and collect the import duties and land revenue. Now the department comes under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance of the Government of India.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is headed by a chairperson. At present Vivek Johri is handling the charge of the Chairperson, who is an IRS (Indian Revenue Service) officer.
He is the 42nd chairman and also one among the six members of the CBIC, including Rajiv Talwar, Ajay Jain, Sungita Sharma, Om Prakash Dadhich and Sandheep Kumar.
The motto of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs is Deshsevarth Karsanchay, which means “Tax Collection in Service of the Nation”.
Central Excise Day 2023 Significance
The Central Excise Day has a lot of significance in raising the awareness of the contribution of the Excise Duty officers in the nation making, among the general public.
The role of the department officials of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in preventing corruption in goods manufacturing businesses is worth-appreciating. It has a measure contribution in building the nation’s structure.
It collects the duty on industrial products, the money obtained by imposing duties is used for the welfare of the public and funds various educational and welfare programs.
It is an important source of the financial development of our country. Just because of the better service delivery standards of the excise department of our country, the financial revenue has doubled in a few years.
The department provides a lot of help for the betterment of the Indian economy by eliminating poverty and Illiteracy.
How is Central Excise Day Celebrated?
To celebrate the day, there are a variety of activities planned by the organization which includes seminars, training sessions, academic and social programs, public awareness campaigns, contests, and award ceremonies.
Every year Central Excise Day is celebrated with a theme, which is based on the subject the Government wants to highlight regarding the importance of this day.
The theme of Central Excise Day for this year has not been revealed yet by the department officials. We could expect the theme to be revealed in the upcoming days.
