Uniform excise duty : Currently, cement retailed at Rs 190 for a 50-kg bag (or Rs 3,800 a tonne) attracts an excise duty of Rs 290 a tonne. If it exceeds Rs 190 a bag, then a duty of 10 per cent of retail sale price is levied. Packed cement for industrial and institutional consumers attracts 10 per cent ad-valorem or Rs 290 a tonne, whichever is higher.
Abatement on excise duty : Discrimination between cement and other products on which excise duty is levied on MRP basis. Abatement of 55 per cent sought, as recommended by NCAER in its Report of 2005.
Cenvat credit for transfer of material from exempted unit to duty-paying unit : The unit receiving the Cenvatable material should be entitled to Cenvat credit on the basis of original excise invoice received by the exempted unit.
Abolition of import duty on tyre chips : Tyre chips should be removed from the negative list and import duty reduced to zero. This will have a dual benefit of increasing energy sources and conserving the domestic energy sources.