The Health Security Se National Security Cess Act, 2025

(1) This Act may be called the Health Security seNational Security Cess Act, 2025. (2) It shall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--- (a) "adjudicating authority" means the concerned proper officer appointed or authorised underthe respective provisions to pass orders under this Act after adjudication, but does not include theBoard, the revisional authority and the appellate authority; (b) "appellate authority" means an authority appointed or authorised to hear appeals undersection 29; (c) "Appellate Tribunal" means the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunalconstituted under section 129 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962);--- (d) "Board" means the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs constituted under section 3of the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963); (e) "cess" means the Health Security se National Security Cess levied under section 4; (f) "factory" means any premises, including the precincts thereof, wherein or in any part ofwhich--- (i) the specified goods are manufactured; or (ii)any manufacturing process connected with the production of the specified goods are beingcarried on or is ordinarily carried on; (g) "machine" for the purposes of manufacture or production of the specified goods includes alltypes of Form, Fill and Seal Machines and Profile Pouch Making Machines, by whatever namecalled, whether vertical or horizontal, with or without collar, single track or multi-track, and anyother type of packing machine used for packing of the specified goods in pouches, tins or othercontainers; (h) "manufacture" includes--- (i) any process incidental or ancillary to the completion of the specified goods; and (ii) the process of packing or repacking of such goods in a pouch or tin or other container orlabelling or re-labelling thereof including the declaration or alteration of retail sale price on it oradoption of any other treatment on the goods to render the specified goods marketable to theconsumer, whether or not such process is the only process undertaken; (i) "notification" means a notification published in the Gazette of India and the expression"notify" with its grammatical variation and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly--- (j) "pan masala" means goods falling under tariff item 2106 90 20 of the First Schedule to theCustoms Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975); (k) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act. (l) "proper officer" means any officer of the Central Government entrusted with suchpowers or assigned with specific functions under the provisions of this Act by the Board; (m) "process" means any manual, mechanical, electrical, electronic, automated or hybridoperation, or any other activity by which the specified goods are manufactured or produced,whether wholly or in part; (n) "revisional authority" means an authority appointed or authorised under section 28for revision of an order of the adjudicating authority; (o) "Schedule" means a Schedule annexed to this Act; (p) "specified goods" means the goods as specified in Schedule I to this Act or such othergoods as the Central Government may, by notification, specify; (q) "State" includes a Union territory with Legislature; (r) "taxable person" shall mean a person referred to in section 3; and (s) "weight" means the maximum weight of the specified goods that is capable of beingpackaged in each pouch, tin or other container by the relevant machine or process.

(1) For the purposes of this Act, "taxable person" means any person who owns, possesses, operates, manages, or is otherwise in control of the machineor undertakes any process by which specified goods are manufactured or produced, whether directly orthrough job-workers, employees, hired labour, or through any other person acting on his behalf underany arrangement. (2) A person shall be treated as a taxable person under this section irrespective of whether he hasopted for, or is availing of, any composition scheme, concessional levy, or any other alternate schemeof taxation applicable to the specified goods, under any law for the time being in force. (3) For the purposes of this section,--- (a) the ownership, possession, or control over the machine or processes shall be sufficient toconstitute a person as a taxable person, irrespective of the actual quantity manufactured; (b) where a machine or process, is owned, possessed, leased, hired or otherwise placed at thedisposal of one or more persons manufacturing or producing the specified goods, every such personshall be regarded as a taxable person; and (c) where the production or manufacture of the specified goods are divided into stages orprocesses carried out by different persons, such person undertaking the final process that results inthe completion or rendering of the specified goods marketable, shall be deemed to be the taxableperson.

(1) There shall be levied and collected a cess, to be called HealthSecurity se National Security Cess, from every taxable person, on the machines installed or otherprocesses undertaken by him for the manufacture or production of the specified goods referred to inSchedule I, at the amount specified in Schedule II and computed in the manner provided in section 5. (2) The cess leviable under sub-section (1) shall be in addition to any other duties or taxes chargeableon the specified goods under any law for the time being in force--- (3) If the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, it may,by notification, exempt any taxable person or a class of taxable persons, unconditionally or subject tosuch conditions, from the whole or any part of the cess leviable under this section for such period asmay be specified in the said notification.

(1) The cess referred to in section 4 shall be computed inaccordance with the provisions of this section based on the relevant process, speed of the machine orcapacity of other processes and the weight of the specified goods packed in pouch, tin or other container,as the case may be, as declared by the taxable person and, where applicable, as verified or calibrated bythe proper officer under section 9, and on the amount specified in Schedule II for such combination ofprocess, speed or capacity and weight. (2) Where the specified goods are manufactured or produced wholly or partly with the aid of amachine, the cess shall be levied and collected from the taxable person--- (a) with reference to the maximum rated speed of the machine measured in number of pouches,tins or containers per minute; (b) for the corresponding weight of the specified goods packed in a pouch, tin or container; (c) at the monthly amount of cess specified in column (4) in Table 1 of Schedule II against suchrated speed and weight provided therein. (3) The cess payable under section 4 shall be the aggregate of cess calculated undersub-section (2) for each of the machines installed in a factory of the taxable person and where suchtaxable person owns, possesses, leases or otherwise controls machines installed in more than onefactory, the cess shall be computed separately for each such factory. (4) Where the specified goods are manufactured or produced by a taxable person wholly by manualprocess without the aid of a machine, the cess shall be levied and collected from the taxable person foreach factory at the monthly amount specified in column (4) in Table 2 of Schedule II, irrespective ofthe capacity of such manual process or the weight of the specified goods packed in a pouch, tin orcontainer. (5) For the purposes of sub-section (4), a taxable person shall be deemed to be engaged in themanufacture or production of the specified goods wholly by manual process without the aid of amachine only where no machine capable of performing, assisting, or completing any part of the processof manufacture or production of the specified goods is installed in the factory of the taxable person. (6) The cess determined under sub-section (2) or sub-section (4) shall be payable for each monthor part thereof and shall be subject to such abatement or other conditions, as may be prescribed. (7) Where any machine or manual process unit remains inoperative for a continuous period offifteen days or more, the cess computed under this section shall, subject to such conditions, as may beprescribed, be abated proportionately for the period of such non-operation.