Central Road and Infrastructure Fund Act, 2000
No: 54 Dated: Dec, 27 2000
Central Road and Infrastructure Fund Act, 2000
(Act No. 54 of 2000)
An Act to give statutory status to the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund for development and maintenance of National Highways, railway projects, improvement of safety in railways, State and rural roads and other infrastructure, and for these purposes to levy and collect by way of cess, a duty of excise and a duty of customs on motor spirit commonly known as petrol and high speed diesel oil and for other matters connected therewith.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-first Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund Act, 2000.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, it shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of November, 2000.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “appointed day” means the date on which the Fund is established under sub-section (1) of section 6;
(b) “cess” means a duty in the nature of duty of excise and customs, imposed and collected on motor spirit commonly known as petrol and high speed diesel oil for the purposes of this Act;
(c) “Fund” means the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund established under sub-section (1) of section 6;
(d) “national highways” means the highways specified in the Schedule to the National Highways Act, 1956 (48 of 1956) or any other highway declared as national highway under sub-section (2) of section 2 of the said Act;
(f) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act.
CHAPTER II CENTRAL ROAD AND INFRASTRUCTURE FUND
3. Levy and collection of cess.—(1) With effect from such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, there shall be levied and collected, as a cess, a duty of excise and customs for the purposes of this Act, on every item specified in column (2) of the 6 Schedule I, which is produced in or imported into India and—
(a) removed from a refinery or a factory or an outlet; or
(b) transferred by the person, by whom such item is produced or imported, to another person, at such rates as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify:
Provided that the additional duty of customs and the additional duty of excise on motor spirit commonly known as petrol and on high speed diesel oil levied under sub-section (1) of section 109 and sub-section (1) of section 110, as the case may be, of the Finance Act, 2018 shall be deemed to be the cess for the purposes of this Act from the date of its levy and the proceeds thereof shall be credited to the Fund.
(2) Every cess leviable under sub-section (1) on any item shall be payable by the person by whom such item is produced, and in the case of imports, the cess shall be imposed and collected on items so imported and specified in the Schedule.
(3) The cess leviable under sub-section (1) on the items specified in the Schedule shall be in addition to any cess or duty leviable on those items under any other law for the time being in force.
(4) The provisions of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944) and the rules made thereunder and the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) and the rules made thereunder, as the case may be, including those relating to refunds and exemptions from duties shall, as far as may be, apply in relation to the levy and collection of cess leviable under this section and for this purpose, the provisions of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and of the Customs Act, 1962, as the case may be, shall have effect as if the aforesaid Acts provided for the levy of cess on all items specified in the Schedule.
4. Crediting of cess to Consolidated Fund of India.—The proceeds of the cess levied under section 3 shall first be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India, and the Central Government may, if Parliament by appropriation made by law in this behalf so provides, credit such proceeds to the Fund from time to time, after deducting the expenses of collection, for being utilised exclusively for the purposes of this Act.
5. Grants and loans by the Central Government.—The Central Government may, after due appropriation made by Parliament by law in this behalf, credit by way of grants or loans such sums of money as the Central Government may consider necessary in the Fund.
6. Establishment of Central Road and Infrastructure Fund.—(1) With effect from such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint in this behalf, there shall be established for the purposes of this Act, a Fund to be called as the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund.
(2) The Fund shall be under the control of the Central Government and there shall be credited thereto—
(a) any sums of money paid under section 4 or section 5;
(b) unspent part of the cess, being already levied for the purposes of the development and maintenance of national highways;
(c) the sums, if any, realised by the Central Government in carrying out its functions or in the administration of this Act;
(d) any fund provided by the Central Government for the development and maintenance of State roads.
(3) The balance to the credit of the Fund shall not lapse at the end of the financial year.