Bills to replace GST compensation cess on tobacco, pan masala likely in LS on Monday
New Delhi (PTI): The government is likely to introduce two bills in the Lok Sabha to replace GST compensation cess with another levy, to ensure that the tax incidence remains the same on tobacco, pan masala and other sin goods after discontinuation of the cess.
The Central Excise Amendment Bill, 2025, and The Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025, are listed for introduction on Monday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
According to sources, the Central Excise Amendment Bill, 2025, will replace GST compensation cess on tobacco by levying excise duty on tobacco products like cigarettes.
The 'Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025', will replace the compensation cess on pan masala. It seeks to "augment the resources for meeting Security expenditure on national security and for public health, and levy a cess for the said purposes on the machines installed or other processes undertaken by which specified goods are manufactured or produced".
Currently, Goods and Services Tax (GST) at 28 per cent is levied on tobacco and pan masala. On top of that, a compensation cess at varied rate is levied.
At the time of the introduction of the GST on July 1, 2017, a compensation cess mechanism was put in place for 5 years till June 30, 2022, to make up for the revenue loss suffered by states on account of GST implementation.
The levy of compensation cess was later extended by 4 years till March 31, 2026, and the collection is being used to repay the loan that the centre took to compensate states for the GST revenue loss during the Covid period.
Since that loan repayment is going to be fully repaid sometime in December, the compensation cess will cease to exist.
On September 3, 2025, the GST Council had decided to continue with the compensation cess on tobacco and pan masala till the loans taken are repaid.
On other luxury items, the compensation cess ended on September 22, when the GST rate rationalisation was implemented with just 2 slabs of 5 and 18 per cent. A 40 per cent rate was fixed for ultra-luxury goods and aerated drinks.
The Central Excise Amendment Bill, 2025, and The Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025 will ensure that the tax incidence on sin goods like tobacco and pan masala remains the same after discontinuation of the compensation Cess.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
