Power not to recover cess not levied or short levied as a result of general practice.
Cess Act s.8A, GST (Compensation to States) Act
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Where a general practice of not charging or short-charging the cess prevailed across the trade, the Government may direct that the cess not be recovered for that period.
The exact words of the law
1,039 characters, uneditedReproduced from the CBIC text. We explain it above — but you should always be able to read it yourself.
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(a) a practice was, or is, generally prevalent regarding levy of cess (including non-levy thereof) on any supply of goods or services or both; and
(b) such supplies were, or are, liable to,—
(i) cess, in cases where according to the said practice, cess was not, or is not being, levied; or (ii) a higher amount of cess than what was, or is being, levied, in accordance with the said practice, the Government may, on the recommendation of the Council, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that the whole of the cess payable on such supplies, or, as the case may be, the cess in excess of that payable on such supplies, but for the said practice, shall not be required to be paid in respect of the supplies on which the cess was not, or is not being, levied, or was, or is being, short-levied, in accordance with the said practice.]
What changed, and when
The amendment trail, newest first — because the version that applies to your case depends on the period.
2024-08-16 · Insertedbyse
Inserted by section 157 of The Finance Act (No. 2) Act, 2024 No. 15 of 2024 dated 16.08.2024 .
Where this comes from
Text reproduced from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, as available on 2026-09-05. The explanation and practice notes above are GSTZone’s own, written for this hub. If you spot anything out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it — this hub is checked daily against CBIC.
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