A year after abolition following GST, govt seeks to bring back sugar cess

Constitution Amendment Act links imposition of cess with natural disaster

It is ironical that the government is trying to bring in the sugar cess, which it abolished just a year ago, to make the transition to the new indirect tax regime.

Also, experts say the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has the powers to impose a cess other than those meant for compensating states under the new tax system only when there is a natural disaster.

In June last year, the government did away with the Sugar Cess Act, 1982. The Act was abolished, along with 12 other kinds of cess, on July 1, 2017, when the GST was