<h1>Tobacco taxation: the bill replaces GST cess with specified excise rates to maintain higher prices and stabilise revenue.</h1> The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025 empowers the Centre to levy higher central excise duty on tobacco and related products after the GST compensation cess ends, replacing the current 28% GST-plus-cess regime with specified excise rates and floors for categories such as unmanufactured tobacco (60-70%), cigars and cheroots, cigarettes by length/filter, and chewing tobacco, to stabilise tobacco taxation and preserve higher consumer prices for public health purposes.