National News

National Security Cess Bill, 2025

December 8 , 2025 16 hrs 0 min 18 0

The Lok Sabha has passed the Health Security Se National Security Cess Bill, 2025.
The Bill aims to levy a cess on machines used to manufacture pan masala to support India’s health and national security.
The cess amount depends on how many pouches a machine produces per minute and the weight of pan masala packed in each pouch.
The cess ranges from ₹1.01 crore to ₹2.5 crore per month per machine, and violations can lead to up to 5 years of imprisonment.
According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS-2), 42% of men and 14% of women in India use tobacco.
This is making India as home to 70% of the world’s smokeless tobacco users.
The economic cost of tobacco use in India was ₹1.77 lakh crore in 2016-17.
The government has clarified that 41% of duties collected will be shared with the States.