Central Excise Bill meant to fill govt coffers, not to address public health issues: Senthil

New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) Congress member Sasikanth Senthil on Wednesday opposed the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, saying it is meant to fill government coffers rather than address public health issues.

He termed the bill "misleading".

"I oppose the bill. It is an ad-hoc and short-sighted decision of the government," Tiruvallur (Tamil Nadu) MP said.

The bill proposes to replace the GST compensation cess, which is currently levied on all tobacco products like cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars, hookah, zarda, and scented tobacco. Currently, a 28 per cent GST plus cess at a varied rate is levied on tobacco.

It proposes to levy an excise duty of 60-70 per cent on unmanufactured tobacco. Excise on cigars and cheroots is proposed at 25 per cent or Rs 5,000 per 1,000 sticks, whichever is higher.

Participating in the discussion on the bill, Senthil said the bill is not about public health, but about pushing revenue collection.

He said GST is not one nation one tax, but it is consistent confusion.

RJD member Sudhakar Singh said the bill will hit the businesses of bidi units, which are mainly in the rural areas of the country.

It will also impact employment in rural areas, the Buxar (Bihar) MP said.

While supporting the bill, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule wanted to know the real objective behind the move.

Pointing out that Gutkha is available everywhere in Maharashtra despite the ban, she questioned whether it is better to increase taxes or ban these products.

She also said that the government needs to look into surrogate advertisements by tobacco product manufacturers.

However, the bill was supported by JD (U) member Kaushalendra Kumar, Anil Desai SS (UBT), Shiv Sena's RD Waikar, and Mahima Kumari (BJP).

Supporting the bill, Arun Govil (BJP) said that he was a chain smoker and used to consume Gutkha, but left after playing the role of Lord Ram in the mythological serial Ramayana. PTI RR CS RR BAL BAL