New Delhi, Dec. 4 -- The Parliament on Thursday approved the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025 with the Rajya Sabha returning it to the Lok Sabha.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while replying to the discussion in Rajya Sabha, said the higher duties on cigarettes will be shared with the states. "This is not a cess but excise duty. The amount will be redistributed to the States as per the Finance Commission's recommendations."

Talking about the impact on tobacco farmers and beedi workers, the Finance Minister said the Bill will not harm tobacco farmers and beedi workers.

"There are many schemes, including crop diversification scheme, to take care of tobacco farmers, to encourage them to move to other crops from tobacco,"...