Page 4 - Excise Duty

Major tax collections, barring personal income tax, decline in October

Centre's fiscal deficit till October at 45% of budget estimates, bit lower than last year's

Manish Sisodia approaches SC seeking review of order denying him bail

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has moved the Supreme Court seeking a review of its order denying him bail in the corruption and money laundering cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The top court had on October 30 refused to grant him bail, saying the accusation against him of facilitating "windfall gains" of Rs 338 crore to wholesale liquor dealers was "tentatively supported" by evidence. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti, which termed several charges levelled by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Sisodia as debatable, had said, "However, there is one clear ground or charge in the complaint filed under the PML Act, which is free from perceptible legal challenge and the facts as alleged are tentatively supported by material and evidence." It had referred to the CBI's charge sheet, which said the excess amount of 7 per cent commission/fee earned by wholesale distributors of Rs 338 crore constitutes an offence as defined under

Excise Case: Delhi Court to hear bail plea of AAP's Sanjay Singh on Nov 28

ED claimed that Singh played a part in the Delhi govt's decision to give licenses to alcohol shops and merchants in 2020, causing losses to the state exchequer and violating anti-corruption laws

Court extends judicial custody of AAP leader Sanjay Singh till Nov 24

A Delhi court on Friday extended till November 24 the judicial custody of AAP leader Sanjay Singh, arrested in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise scam. Special Judge M K Nagpal also allowed Singh to sign some documents related to development work as a Member of Parliament. The judge also directed the authorities concerned to produce him before a court in Punjab after it was informed that a production warrant had been received from a court in Amritsar, Punjab, in a case there. The anti-money laundering agency had arrested Singh on October 4. The ED has alleged that Singh played a key role in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy, which benefited certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.

Delhi excise policy case: ED summons CM Kejriwal for questioning on Nov 2

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for questioning in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case on November 2, official sources said on Monday. Kejriwal (55) has been issued the summons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and according to the sources, the agency will record his statement once he deposes before the investigating officer of the case in Delhi. The ED has mentioned Kejriwal's name multiple times in its chargesheets filed in the case and said the accused were in touch with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader regarding the preparation and execution of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. In a related development, the Supreme Court rejected two separate bail pleas of former deputy chief minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia in corruption and money-laundering cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam and said a transfer of Rs 338 crore was tentatively established in the matter.

Delhi excise scam: HC denies bail to Mahendru in money laundering case

The Delhi High Court has denied bail to liquor businessman Sameer Manendru in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, saying his right to healthcare cannot be allowed to overshadow the pressing need to investigate fairly. The high court observed that Mahendru, whose one of the grounds for seeking bail was his bad medical condition, was not suffering from any life threatening condition or sickness or infirmity which involves danger to his life and for which treatment cannot be provided to the applicant in jail. While the applicant's right to healthcare and medical treatment is a fundamental consideration, it cannot be allowed to overshadow the pressing need to investigate fairly and ensure that due legal processes are followed, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said. Mahendru was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on September 28, 2022, in the money laundering case. The high court said the allegations against the businessman were that he was one of t

Excise case: Court allows Sisodia to sign docs to allocate funds for works

A court here on Thursday allowed former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sidodia, arrested in cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, to sign documents to facilitate allocation of funds for development schemes for his assembly constituency. Special Judge M K Nagpal passed the order on an application moved by Sisodia. On an application moved on behalf of A (accused) 8 (Sisodia), he has been permitted to put his signatures, under attestation of the court, on some documents pertaining to approval/allocation of funds for some development schemes pertaining to his Assembly Constituency, the judge said. The judge had earlier allowed a similar application moved by Sisodia in August. Sisodia is currently in judicial custody in corruption and money laundering cases related to the alleged scam being probed by the CBI and ED, respectively. The two central agencies have alleged the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain deale

Excise policy case: SC reserves verdict on bail pleas of Manish Sisodia

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the regular bail pleas of former deputy chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia in corruption and money laundering cases arising out of the Delhi excise policy 'scam'. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti reserved its verdict on two separate bail petitions by Sisodia after hearing his counsel Abhishek Singhvi and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the 'scam'. He has been in custody since then. The ED had arrested Sisodia in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar Jail. Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28. The high court had denied him bail in the CBI case on May 30, saying having been the deputy chief minister and excise minister, he is a "high-profile" person

Cannot keep Sisodia in jail in excise policy cases indefinitely: SC to CBI

The Supreme Court told the CBI and ED on Monday they cannot keep former deputy chief minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia in jail for an "indefinite period" in the Delhi excise policy cases. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti asked Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the two probe agencies, when will the arguments on charges against Sisodia commence in the trial court. "You cannot keep him behind (bars) for an indefinite period. You cannot keep him behind like this. Once a chargesheet is filed in a case, arguments on charge should commence immediately," the bench told Raju. Raju told the bench the cases against Sisodia are at the stage of section 207 of CrPC (supply of documents to the accused) and after that the arguments on charge will commence. "Why have the arguments on charge not yet commenced and when will they commence? Tell us by tomorrow (Tuesday)," Justice Khanna told Raju. The top court was hearing the bail pleas of Sisodia, who was arres

Excise case: Court extends ED custody of AAP MP Sanjay Singh till Oct 13

ED had sought five days of further custody on grounds that Singh is not cooperating, and not telling about his old phone. "His close associate Sarvesh Mishra is also not cooperating," ED told court

Delhi court sends AAP leader Sanjay Singh to ED custody till Oct 10

A Delhi court Thursday sent senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for five days, a day after the anti-money laundering agency arrested him in the Delhi excise policy case. Special Judge M K Nagpal remanded Singh in ED custody till October 10 to enable the federal probe agency to interrogate him. The AAP Rajya Sabha MP will be produced before the court on expiry of his custody. While being brought to the courtroom, Singh said his arrest was an act of injustice by Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose party was going to lose the next Lok Sabha elections. Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case, in a huge blow to the city's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). "This is Modiji's injustice. He will lose election, he is losing election," he told journalists. Later, when the court asked him whether he wanted to say something, Singh claimed he w

Sanjay Singh produced before court, says his arrest 'Modiji's injustice'

AAP leader Sanjay Singh was produced before a court on Thursday, a day after he was arrested in the Delhi excise policy case. The Rajya Sabha MP said his arrest was an act of injustice by Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose party was going to lose the next Lok Sabha elections. Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case, in a huge blow to the city's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). "This is Modiji's injustice. He will lose election, he is losing election," he told journalists while being produced before Special Judge M K Nagpal.

Union excise duty collection fell 12% in first five months of FY24

Experts were not sure why excise duty yielded fewer revenues in August year-on-year since the production of petroleum rose during the period

Delhi govt issues notification asking to renew excise licences by October 5

The Delhi government issued a notification on Friday, asking the licensees to renew their existing excise licences by October 5. The city government has decided to extend its existing excise policy by six months due to the time needed for coming up with a new liquor trade regime. The policy has been extended till March 31, 2024 following the requisite approvals from the Delhi government and the lieutenant governor, a senior officer had said on Thursday. "All the licensees of L15/L-15F and L-16/L-16F are hereby directed to submit their applications for renewal of the licences online by accessing their accounts in ESCIMS portal through their ID and passwords, along with the applicable licence renewal fee for the period w.e.f. 01.10.2023 to 31.03.2024 by providing requisite information and payment of renewal licence fee on or before 05.10.2023," the notification read. A proposal of the excise department to extend the policy, implemented on September 1 last year, was sent for the LG's

Delhi govt extends existing excise policy by 6 more months: Officials

The Delhi government has decided to extend its existing excise policy by six months due to the time needed for coming up with a new liquor trade regime, officials said on Thursday. The policy has been extended till March 31, 2024 following the requisite approvals from the Delhi government and the lieutenant governor, a senior officer said. A proposal of the excise department to extend the policy, implemented on September 1 last year, was sent for the LG's nod after it was cleared by the government. The file was sent back to the government from the LG's office, marked as "seen", the officer added. A notification for the extension of the policy will be issued by the excise department on Friday. After the notification, the existing excise licences will be renewed for six months on payment of fees on a pro-rata basis, he said. The current excise policy was going to lapse on September 30, requiring either its extension or replacement with a new policy for regulatory necessities to opera

CBI court grants bail to four accused in Delhi excise policy case

The CBI has filed a supplementary charge sheet against five accused, including these four. Former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was physically produced for the hearing of the case

Difference between AIR of DBK & actual duty incidence can be rebated

You have to make appropriate declarations in the shipping bill and then file the brand rate fixation application to your jurisdictional authorities

Delhi excise policy case: SC defers hearing on Sisodia's bail plea to Oct 4

After the commencement of the hearing this morning, the court said that it could keep the matter at the end of the board or adjourn it for some other day

Excise Commissioner empowered to declare dry days in Delhi, says official

A notification issued by the Finance department of Delhi government has empowered the Excise Commissioner to declare dry days for closure of liquor outlets in the city, officials said on Friday. The proposal of the Excise department on the declaration of dry days was earlier sent for approval of the chief minister, they said. No immediate reaction was available from the AAP government on the notification. Last month, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal approved a proposal of the Excise department for declaring Muharram, July 29, Independence Day, August 15, Janmashtami, September 7, and Eid-e-Milad on September 28, as dry days. However, the notification issued by the Finance department on July 28 stated that the Excise Commissioner with prior concurrence of the principal secretary (finance) can exercise the power of the government for the purpose. "In exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 8 of Delhi Excise Act, 2009 (10 of 2010), the Hon'ble Lt. Governor of Nationa

Excise scam: HC grants bail to Raghav Magunta in money laundering case

The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Raghav Magunta, son of YSR Congress Party MP, in connection with a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, who had earlier granted interim bail to the son of MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, recorded that the relief was granted as the Enforcement Directorate did not oppose his bail plea. The ED, in its reply, submitted that since the accused is cooperating in the investigation and assisting in tracing the Proceeds of Crime, which would have been otherwise difficult, he may be granted bail. In view of the statement made and the facts narrated herein above, the interim bail granted vide order dated 18.07.2023 for four weeks on medical grounds is made absolute, said the court in an order dated August 10. Let the petitioner be released on regular bail furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 2,00,000 with two sureties of like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial court , the court said. The court a