ASSAM EXCISE
(AMENDMENT) ACT, 2018 THE ASSAM EXCISE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2018 [Act No. 04 of 2018] [16th March, 2018] An Act further to amend the Assam Excise Act, 2000 Whereas it is expedient further
to amend the Assam Excise Act, 2000 (Assam Act No. XIV of 2000), hereinafter
referred to as the principal Act, in the manner hereinafter appearing; It is hereby enacted in the
Sixty-ninth Year of the Republic of India as follows:- (1)
This Act may be called the Assam Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018 (2)
It shall have the like extent as the principal Act (3)
It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may,
by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint. In the principal Act, in
section 2, after clause (y), the following new clause (z), shall be inserted,
namely:- "(z) 'public place'
means any place intended for use by or accessible to the public and includes
any conveyance running or parked on public roads or parking area;" In the principal Act, for
the existing section 36, the following shall be substituted, namely:- "36. Recovery of
dues.- (1)
All excise revenue, payable to the Government under this Act,
shall be recovered from the person liable to pay the same or his legal
representatives/successors or from his surety or his agent as if they were the
arrears of land revenue or in the manner provided for the recovery of public
demands by any law for the time being in force. (2)
In the event of default in payment of excise revenue or otherwise,
by any person licensed under this Act, his manufactory, warehouse, shop or
premises and all fittings, apparatus, stocks of liquor or material for the
manufacture of the same, held therein shall be liable to be attached towards
any claim for excise revenue or in respect of any loss incurred by the
Government through such default and be sold to satisfy such claim which shall
be the first charge upon the proceeds of such sale." In the principal Act, for
the existing section 49, the following shall be substituted, namely:- "49. Bail.- (1)
Subject to sub-section (2) of this section, the provisions of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) shall apply to bail in
respect of the offences under this Act, (2)
Except for the offences punishable under sub-section (1) of
section 53, section 54 and section 55, which shall be non-bailable, all other
offences under this Act shall be bailable within the meaning of the said Code. (3)
All Excise Officers and Police Officers, not below such rank as
the State Government may prescribe, shall be empowered to accept bail in
respect of bailable offences." In the principal Act, in
section 53, for the existing provisions of sub-section (1), the following shall
be substituted, namely:- "53. Penalty for
unlawful import, export, transport manufacture, possession, sale etc.- (1)
Whoever, in contravention of the provision of this Act or of any
rule or order made or notification issued or of any licence, permit or pass,
granted under this Act,- (a)
manufactures, imports, exports, transports, removes, possesses or
sells any intoxicant other than tari and pachwai; or (b)
constructs or works, any distillery or brewery; or (c)
bottles any liquor other than tari and pachwai for purposes of
sale; or (d)
uses, keeps or has in his possession any material, still, utensil,
implement or apparatus, whatsoever, for the purpose of manufacturing any
intoxicant other than tari and pachwai; or (e)
possesses any material or label of any brand of liquor either with
or without the Government hologram or hologram of any other State or any other
thing in which liquor can be packed or any apparatus or implement or machine
for the purpose of packing any liquor; shall be punished with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may
extend to three years and with fine which shall not be less than five thousand
rupees but which may extend to one lakh rupees and the convicting Magistrate
shall direct the offender to be imprisoned in default of payment of fine for a
term which may extend to one year, and such imprisonment shall be in addition
to any other imprisonment to which he may have been sentenced." In the principal Act, for
the existing section 54, the following shall be substituted, namely:- "54. Unlawful
possession in certain cases. Whoever without lawful authority has in his
possession any quantity of any intoxicant knowing the same to have been
unlawfully imported, exported, transported or manufactured, and knowing that
the prescribed duty has not been paid thereon, shall be punished with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may
extend to three years and with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand
rupees but which may extend to five lakh rupees and the convicting Magistrate
shall direct the offender to be imprisoned in default of payment of fine for a
term which may extend to one year and such imprisonment shall be in addition to
any other imprisonment to which he may have been sentenced," In the principal Act, for
the existing section 55, the following shall be substituted, namely:- "55. Penalty for
altering or attempting to alter any denatured spirit that may be used for human
consumption.-If any person alters or attempts to alter any denatured spirit
with the intention that such spirit may be used for human consumption whether
as a beverage or internally as medicine or in any other way whatsoever, by any
method whatsoever, or has in his possession any spirit in respect of which he
knows or has reason to believe that any such alteration or attempt has been
made, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less
than one year but which may extend to five years and with fine which shall not
be less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to two lakh rupees and
the convicting Magistrate shall direct the offender to be imprisoned in default
of payment of fine for a term which may extend to one year, and such
imprisonment shall be addition to any other imprisonment to which he may have
been sentenced." In the principal Act, in
section 58, in sub-section (b), after the words and punctuation mark
"permit or pass,", the following shall be substituted, namely:- "shall be punished in
case of (a) with fine which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but
which may extend to fifty thousand rupees and in case (b) with fine which shall
not be less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to five lakh rupees
and the convicting Magistrate shall direct the offender to be imprisoned in
default of payment of fine for a term which may extend to six months," In the principal Act, after
section 58, the following new section 58-A shall be inserted, namely:- "58-A. Penalty for
non-payment of duty or fee.- If any person or any licence holder under this Act
fails to pay any duty, fee or any other levy due to the Government, which
tinder this Act he is liable to pay and for which he has received due notice
from the State Government or the Excise Commissioner or a Collector, shall be
punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with
fine which shall not be less than the amount due from him but which may extend
to three hundred percent of the duty, fee or other levies due from him." In the principal Act, after
section 61, the following new sections 61-A and 61-B shall be inserted,
namely:- "61-A. Prohibition of
consumption of liquor or intoxicant In public place.-No person shall consume
Liquor or any intoxicant in a public place (as defined under section 2 (z)). "61-B. Penalty for
consumption of liquor in public places.- Whoever, in contravention of this Act
or the rules, notification or order made thereunder,- (a)
consumes liquor in a public place; (b)
consumes liquor in a public place and creates nuisance; (c)
permits drunkenness or allows assembly of unsocial elements on the
licensed premises of liquor establishments; shall be punishable:- (i)
in case of an offence falling under clause (a), with fine which
may extend to five thousand rupees; (ii)
in case of an offence falling under clause (b), with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to three months and with fine which may extend to
ten thousand rupees; and (iii)
in case of an offence falling under clause (c), with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to six months and with fine which may extend to
fifty thousand rupees." In the principal Act, after
section 64, the following new section 64-A shall be inserted, namely:- "64-A. Commission of
offence by companies.- (1) If the
person committing an offence under this Act is a company, the company as well
as every person in charge of and responsible to the company for the conduct of
its business at the time of the commission of the offence, shall be deemed to
be guilty of offence, and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished
accordingly: Provided that where a
company has different establishments or branches of different units in any
establishment or branch, the Chief Executive Officer and the person in charge
of such establishment, branch, unit nominated by the company as responsible for
the conduct of the business shall be liable for contravention in respect of
such establishment, branch or unit. (2) ?Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section
(1), where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is
proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of,
or that the commission of the offence is attributable to any negligence on the
part of any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such
director, manager, secretary or other officer shall be liable to be proceeded
against and punished accordingly. Explanation : for the
purpose of this section,- "Company" means a
body corporate registered under the Companies Act, 2013 (Central Act No. 18 of
2013) and includes a firm including a partnership firm, whether registered
under Indian Partnership Act, 1932 (Act No. IX of 1932) or other association of
individuals registered under the Co-operative Societies Act, 1912 (Act No. 2 of
1912) and the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (Act No. 21 of 1860); and
"director", in relation to firm, means a partner in the firm." In the principal Act, in section
69, in sub-section (1), for the existing clauses (a) and (b), the following
shall be substituted, namely:- "(a) under section 53,
54, 55, 61 or 61-B except on his own knowledge or suspicion or on the complaint
or report of an Excise Officer; (b) under section 56, 57,
58, 58-A or 64 except on the complaint or report of a Collector or other
officer empowered under section 42, sub-section (2) to investigate the case;
or" In the principal Act, for
the existing section 76, the following shall be substituted, namely:- "76, Power to compound
offences.- (1)
The offences under this Act, except under sub-section (1) of
section 53, section 54 and section 55 shall be compoundable. (2)
Any person or licence holder who is reasonably suspected of having
committed an offence, except under section 53(1), 54 and 55 of this Act, may
apply to the Excise Commissioner or a Collector for compounding of the offence,
before he is convicted. (3)
On receipt of such application, the Excise Commissioner or
Collector, having regard to the circumstances of the case, may in his
discretion order for compounding of the offence on payment of a sum of money by
way of compounding fee for the offence on such terms and conditions as he deems
fit. (4)
On payment by the person of such sum of money, such person, if in
custody, shall be set at liberty and no further proceeding shall be instituted
and continued against such person in respect of the offence compounded, in any
criminal court: Provided that the sum of
money fixed as compounding fee or compensation by the Excise Commissioner or
Collector, under this section shall not be less than three times and not be
more than five times the duty involved or value of intoxicant, apparatus,
vehicle and other material, whichever is higher: Provided further that where
any intoxicant, apparatus, vehicle or other material is seized, the same shall
not be released but shall be disposed of in such manner as may be prescribed. (5) In case
the license holder commits the same offence for the second time, his
compounding fee will be not less than double of the amount paid for his same
offence committed earlier".
Preamble - ASSAM EXCISE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2018PREAMBLE