The notification 03/2025 dated 31st December 2025, has been amended to revise duty treatment on unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco refuse, creating a clear distinction based on branding and retail packaging. Under the new amendment, such tobacco will attract a nil rate of excise duty only when it does not bear a brand name and is not packed for retail sale, effectively targeting raw, bulk, or agricultural-stage tobacco supplies that are not meant for direct consumer markets. A new entry has been inserted prescribing an 18% excise duty on all other forms of unmanufactured tobacco or tobacco refuse that do not meet these two conditions.
(Link: Central Excise Notification 04/2026 (T) Dated 01/02/2026)