E-PAYMENT FLOOR FOR EXCISE DUTY LOWERED

The Finance Ministry has lowered the threshold for payment of excise duty through the Internet banking route. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has now stipulated that internet banking should be the payment mode for all central excise assesses that fork out "Rs.10 lakh or more (including the cenvat credit utilization) in a preceding financial year." Hitherto, e-payment of excise duty was mandatory only for those central excise assesses that paid excise duty of Rs. 50 lakh and above (other than cenvat credit utilization) in a financial year. Meanwhile, the CBEC has also now stipulated that assesses who pay excise duty of over Rs. 10 lakh in a financial year, must file their monthly or quarterly returns electronically.