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Section3
The Central Excise Act, 1944

Duty specified in the Fourth Schedule to be levied

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 17 provisions Instruments 40

Section 3 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 deals with duty specified in the Fourth Schedule to be levied. 1]3. Duty specified in the Fourth Schedule to be levied.-- (1) There shall be levied and collected in such manner as may be prescribed a duty of excise to be called the Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT) on all excisable goods (excluding goods produced or manufactured in special economic zones) which The Act came into force on 28 Feb 1944.

1]3. Duty specified in the Fourth Schedule to be levied.-- (1) There shall be levied and collected in such manner as may be prescribed a duty of excise to be called the Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT) on all excisable goods (excluding goods produced or manufactured in special economic zones) which are produced or manufactured in India as, and at the rates, set forth in the Fourth Schedule:

Provided that the duty of excise which shall be levied and collected on any excisable goods which are produced or manufactured by a hundred per cent export oriented undertaking and brought to any other place in India, shall be an amount equal to the aggregate of the duties of customs which would be leviable under the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) or any other law for the time being in force, on like goods produced or manufactured outside India if imported into India, and where the said duties of customs are chargeable by reference to their value, the value of such excisable goods shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act, be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975).

Explanation 1.-- Where in respect of any such like goods, any duty of customs leviable for the time being in force is leviable at different rates, then, such duty shall, for the purposes of this proviso, be deemed to be leviable at the highest of those rates.

Explanation 2.-- For the purposes of this sub-section,--

(i) "hundred per cent export-oriented undertaking” means an undertaking which has been approved as a hundred per cent export-oriented undertaking by the board appointed in this behalf by the Central Government in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 14 of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 (65 of 1951), and the rules made under that Act;

(ii) "Special Economic Zone" shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (za) of Section 2 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 (28 of 2005).

(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall apply in respect of all excisable goods which are produced or manufactured in India by or on behalf of the Government, as they apply in respect of goods which are not produced or manufactured by the Government.

(3) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, fix, for the purposes of levying the said duty, tariff values of any articles enumerated, either specifically or under general headings, in the Fourth Schedule as chargeable with duty ad valorem and may alter any tariff values for the time being in force.

(4) The Central Government may fix different tariff values--

(a) for different classes or descriptions of the same excisable goods; or

(b) for excisable goods of the same class or description--

(i) produced or manufactured by different classes of producers or manufacturers; or

(ii) sold to different classes of buyers:

Provided that in fixing different tariff values in respect of excisable goods falling under sub-clause (i) or sub-clause (ii), regard shall be had to the sale prices charged by the different classes of producers or manufacturers or, as the case may be, the normal practice of the wholesale trade in such goods.[

Section 3, 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.

Referred to by 17

  1. s. 3A Power of Central Government to charge excise duty on the basis of capacity of production in respect of notified goods
  2. s. 3B Emergency power of Central Government to increase duty of excise
  3. s. 4 Valuation of excisable goods for purposes of charging of duty of excise
  4. s. 5A Power to grant exemption from duty of excise
  5. s. 12 Application of the provisions of Act 52 of 1962 to Central Excise Duties
  6. s. 15A Obligation to furnish information return
  7. Central Sales Tax Act s. 8 Rates of tax on sales in the course of inter-State trade or commerce
  8. Chhattisgarh Value Added Sales Tax Act s. 38
  9. Customs Act s. 61 Period for which goods may remain warehoused
  10. Customs Tariff Act s. 3 Levy of additional duty equal to excise duty, sales tax, local taxes and other charges
  11. Customs Tariff Act s. 8B Power of Central Government to apply safefuard measures
  12. Customs Tariff Act s. 9 Countervailing duty on subsidized articles

and 5 more

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. Commr. of Central Excise, Nagpur vs Universal Ferro & Allied Chem. Ld. &an

    Supreme Court of India 06 Mar 2020 Binding (SC) Reportable

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    An Export Oriented Unit (EOU) is entitled to undertake job work for a Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) unit and claim concessional excise duty benefits under Exemption Notification No. 8/97 dated 1.3.1997, provided: (1) the goods are produced or manufactured by the 100% EOU; (2) they are manufactured wholly from raw materials produced or manufactured in India; (3) they are allowed to be sold in India in accordance with paragraph 9.9(b) of EXIM Policy with valid permission from the Development Commissioner; and (4) the transaction constitutes a 'sale' within the meaning of Section 2(h) of Central Excise Act 1944 (transfer of possession for valuable consideration). The definition of 'sale' under Central Excise Act cannot be restricted by the narrower definition under Sale of Goods Act 1930. The proviso to Section 5A(1) does not preclude exemption notifications from applying to EOU clearances if specifically provided in the notification. The 2001 amendment to Section 5A does not impliedly repeal Exemption Notification No. 8/97 as there is no direct conflict between the provisions.

    On this section: Duty of excise on goods produced by 100% EOU brought to DTA shall be equal to customs duty on imported goods, applied to establish baseline duty liability

    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. Supreme Court of India 19 Jul 2023 SCIN010034312010

    … Whether Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (as substituted with effect from 1-7-2000) and the definition of "transaction value" in clause ( d ) of subsection (3) of Section 4 are subject to Section 3 of the Act? 2 . Whether Sections 3 and 4 of the Central Excise Act, despite being interlinked, operate in different fields and what is their real scope and ambit? 3 . Whether the concept of "transaction value" makes any material departure from the deemed normal price concept of the erstwhile Section 4(1)( a ) of the Act?" 4. As the decisions in …

    Read this order on eCourtsIndia

Made under this section, and citing it

40 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.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 3

What have the courts held on Section 3 of the Central Excise Act?

Commr. of Central Excise, Nagpur vs Universal Ferro & Allied Chem. Ld. &an (06 Mar 2020) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Duty of excise on goods produced by 100% EOU brought to DTA shall be equal to customs duty on imported goods, applied to establish baseline duty liability.

How do I find court cases under Section 3 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 3, section 3 Central Excise Act 1944, section 3 of the 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 Commr. of Central Excise, Nagpur vs Universal Ferro & Allied Chem. Ld. &an (06 Mar 2020).

What should I read with Section 3 of the Central Excise Act, and has it changed?

17 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there are 40: most recently Notification No02/2023-Central Excise (N.T.) (2023), then 01/2022-Central Excise (N.T.) (2022), and 38 more.

When did Section 3 of the Central Excise Act come into force?

Section 3 of the Central Excise Act, cited as Central Excise Act 1944 3, 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.