Budget-day excise enhancement applies only from statutory commencement, not to clearances made before midnight.

Clearances made before midnight on Budget day were not subject to an enhanced excise duty rate announced in the Budget, because the budget proposal could operate only in accordance with the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act and the Central Excise Rules. The Tribunal read those provisions harmoniously and applied the same principle previously adopted on the point, holding that a new levy or an increase in existing duty cannot be fastened on goods cleared before the statutory commencement time merely because the enhancement has been announced. The pre-existing rate therefore continued to apply until the budget measure took effect.

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Issues: Whether goods cleared on the Budget day before midnight were chargeable to the enhanced rate of excise duty announced in the Budget or only to the pre-existing rate until the Budget provisions took effect.

Analysis: The Tribunal applied the statutory scheme governing provisional collection of taxes and the budget-day restrictions under the Central Excise Rules. It followed the earlier decision on the same principle and held that the rule provisions and the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act had to be read harmoniously. On that basis, the declared budget provision did not operate so as to fasten the enhanced rate before midnight following the Budget day, whether the budget measure involved a new levy or an increase in an existing duty.

Conclusion: The clearance made before midnight on the Budget day was not liable to the enhanced duty rate; the appeal was allowed and the impugned order was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Budget proposals imposing or increasing excise duty take effect only in accordance with the provisional collection statute, and cannot be applied to clearances made before the statutory time of commencement merely because the Budget has announced enhancement.

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