The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025 have raised caution among experts over potential ambiguity in product classification, valuation, and compliance obligations.

Under the bills, higher excise duty will apply on tobacco products, including cigarettes. Separately, the Health Security se National Security Cess is a machine-capacity based levy, currently proposed for pan masala manufacturing and other notified goods. Excise duty is calculated based on product category and valuation, while the cess is levied monthly on machine capacity, irrespective of actual output. Experts say distinguishing these two regimes is essential for companies to avoid misinterpretation of liability. Classification

Experts caution that the revised

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