The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on state revenues for the 2022-23 financial year has revealed that the Excise Department in Tura charged bonded warehouses 34.56 per cent lower than the prescribed rate, costing the state exchequer Rs 14.48 crore.
The CAG said that an audit of the records from the Superintendent of Excise in Tura showed that total excise duty liability amounted to Rs 41.90 crore in 2018-19 but the sum levied from the warehouses was only Rs 27.32 crore, thereby leading to a shortfall of Rs 14.48 crore.
This discrepancy was reported to the Superintendent in June 2020 and the state government in September 2023. In December 2023 the Commissioner of Excise issued correspondence seeking replies from the warehouses concerned.
Additionally, the Superintendent issued orders for payment of the deficient amount to the mentioned bonded warehouses and to the officers in charge in January 2024 but the details of the recovery were yet to be intimated to the CAG as of April 2024.
The CAG recommended that to address failure in excise duty collection and prevent revenue losses, thorough investigations should be conducted into the lapses and strict compliance be enforced with government notifications in application of excise duty rules.
