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Section11C
The Central Excise Act, 1944

Power not to recover duty of excise not levied or short-levied as a result of general practice

In force From 28 Feb 1944 Act 1 of 1944 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 1 of 1944 Ministry Finance Enacted 24 Feb 1944 In force 28 Feb 1944 Cited by 2 provisions Instruments 19

Section 11C of the Central Excise Act, 1944 deals with power not to recover duty of excise not levied or short-levied as a result of general practice. levied as a result of general practice.--- [(1)] Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, if the Central Government is satisfied-- (a) that a practice was, or is, generally prevalent regarding levy of duty of excise (including nonlevy thereof) on any excisable goods; The Act came into force on 28 Feb 1944.

1[11C. Power not to recover duty of excise not levied or short-levied as a result of general practice.--- 2[(1)] Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, if the Central Government is satisfied--

(a) that a practice was, or is, generally prevalent regarding levy of duty of excise (including nonlevy thereof) on any excisable goods; and

(b) that such goods were, or are, liable--

(i) to duty of excise, in cases where according to the said practice the duty was not, or is not being, levied, or

(ii) to a higher amount of duty of excise than what was, or is being, levied, according to the said practice, then, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette direct that the whole of the duty of excise payable on such goods, or, as the case may be, the duty of excise in excess of that payable on such goods, but for the said practice, shall not be required to be paid in respect of the goods on which the duty of excise was not, or is not being, levied, or was, or is being, short-levied, in accordance with the said practice.]

3[(2) Where any notification under sub-section (1) in respect of any goods has been issued, the whole of the duty of excise paid on such goods or, as the case may be, the duty of excise paid in excess of that payable on such goods, which would not have been paid if the said notification had been in force, shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) of Section 11-B:

Provided that the person claiming the refund of such duty or, as the case may be, excess duty, makes an application in this behalf to the Assistant 4[Principal Commissioner of Central Excise or Commissioner of Central Excise] 5[or Deputy 4[Principal Commissioner of Central Excise or Commissioner of Central Excise]], in the form referred to in sub-section (1) of Section 11-B, before the expiry of six months from the date of issue of the said notification.]

Section 11C, The Central Excise Act, 1944 (Act 1 of 1944).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

  1. s. 11 Recovery of sums due to Government

Referred to by 2

  1. s. 12C Consumer Welfare Fund
  2. s. 38 Publication of rules and notifications and laying of rules before Parliament

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. Mangalam Organics LTD vs Union of India

    Supreme Court of India 24 Apr 2017 Binding (Supreme Court of India) with broad implications for administrative and Reportable

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    When a statute vests a discretionary power in the Central Government to issue subordinate legislation (notification) in the nature of tax waiver, and the conditions for exercise of such power are satisfied, the Government is not obligated to exercise the power; the power remains discretionary. The issuance of such notification is a policy decision which is beyond the domain of courts to mandate through judicial review. A writ of mandamus cannot be issued to direct the Government to issue such a notification. The scope of judicial review of discretionary power relating to subordinate legislation is very limited and applies only where the exercise is arbitrary, with oblique end, extraneous purposes, without applying mind to relevant considerations, or lacking in relevant norms. A policy decision by Government that Section 11C notifications should be issued only when affecting large sections of trade, not individual assessees, is a valid policy consideration not open to judicial review. The courts cannot sit in appeal over policy decisions of the Executive relating to subordinate legislation.

    On this section: Core provision empowering Central Government to issue notification directing non-recovery of excise duty or recovery of lesser duty when generally prevalent practice of non-levy exists. Court held this is a discretionary power, not a mandatory duty. Interpretation focuses on whether conditions are satisfied and whether power can be mandated by courts.

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Judgments citing this section

These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.

  1. High Court 14 Dec 2022 KLHC010878592022

    … 221], the appellant filed an appeal aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court rendered in the writ petition filed by them, wherein they wanted the High Court to exercise its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and issue mandamus to the Central Government directing to issue a notification under Section 11C of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'), to the effect that the duty payable by the appellant on goods manufactured by it shall not be paid. After considering the rival submissions, the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed as under: > "35. Issuance of a notification under Section 11C of …

    Read this order on eCourtsIndia

Made under this section, and citing it

17 instruments state that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.

Another 2 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 11C

What have the courts held on Section 11C of the Central Excise Act?

Mangalam Organics LTD vs Union of India (24 Apr 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Core provision empowering Central Government to issue notification directing non-recovery of excise duty or recovery of lesser duty when generally prevalent practice of non-levy exists. Court held this is a discretionary power, not a mandatory duty. Interpretation focuses on whether conditions are satisfied and whether power can be mandated by courts.

How do I find court cases under Section 11C of the Central Excise Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Central Excise Act 1944 11C, section 11C Central Excise Act 1944, section 11C of the Central Excise Act. People searching for it also type section 11c of central excise act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Mangalam Organics LTD vs Union of India (24 Apr 2017).

What should I read with Section 11C of the Central Excise Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 11 (Recovery of sums due to Government), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there are 17: most recently No. 01/2017- Central Excise (N.T.) (2017), then No. 11/2017- Central Excise (N.T.) (2017), and 15 more.

When did Section 11C of the Central Excise Act come into force?

Section 11C of the Central Excise Act, cited as Central Excise Act 1944 11C, came into force on 28 Feb 1944, having been enacted on 24 Feb 1944. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.