The Central Government is going to take the biggest strictness till date on the Gutkha and Pan Masala industry. After complaints of increasing use of these products, health risks and tax evasion for a long time, the government has now prepared to implement a new and strict financial provision. The government is planning to impose a new tax called ‘National Security and Public Health Cess’, which will not only strengthen control over the manufacturers of these products, but will also raise additional resources for national security and public health missions.

The government is considering the ‘Health Security to National Security Cess Bill 2025’ to be presented in the upcoming winter session of Parliament as an important economic reform to strengthen the health and security infrastructure. Come, let us know big things about it.

1. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present this bill in the Lok Sabha. Its purpose is to raise additional funds for national security and health plans.

2. The new cess will be imposed on the machines and production process that make Gutkha-Pan Masala. That means the tax will be decided on the basis of production capacity and not on the quantity of finished product.

3. Whether the goods are made by machine or by hand, it will be mandatory for all manufacturers to pay cess every month. Fixed monthly fee will also be fixed for those producing by hand.

4. After approval in Parliament, the amount collected from this cess will be spent on national security and public health projects. If necessary, the government can also double this cess.

5. There is a provision of jail sentence of up to 5 years for not following the rules. However, companies will be able to appeal from the appellate authorities to the Supreme Court.

6. Every Gutkha-Pan Masala manufacturer will have to compulsorily register. Producing without this will be considered illegal.

7. It will be mandatory for the companies on which this cess will be applicable to file monthly returns. Government officials will be able to investigate and audit.

8If any machine or production process remains closed for more than 15 days, then exemption in cess can be given for that period,

9. This bill is being considered as the biggest step of the government towards cracking down on tobacco and pan masala industry and increasing government revenue.

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A new update has come in the case of actress Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra in the case of fraud of Rs 60 crore from a businessman. The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) has issued summons for questioning to four former employees working in the actress’s company. The statement of one of the four has been recorded.

EOW increased the pace of investigation
Summons have been sent to 4 employees working in Best Deal Private Limited. An Economic Offenses Wing official said that one employee of the company has appeared before the branch and his statement has also been recorded, while the appearance of three employees is yet to be done. All three of them will also be interrogated and their statements will be recorded. These four employees previously worked in the company.

Investigation team engaged in finding out the truth about 60 crore loan
The senior officer said that the team is investigating those aspects whether Raj Kundra’s company really had so many orders from customers, to fulfill which Raj Kundra had to take a loan of Rs 60 crore from the businessman and had shown the loan as an investment to save tax.

The team will also interrogate the product suppliers and advertising companies associated with the company. If anything suspicious comes to light during the interrogation, then Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra will be interrogated again.

Questions raised on company’s expenses
The Economic Offenses Wing asked the employee questions related to the company. The branch is trying to find out how salaries are paid to the company’s employees. Was part of the salary paid from the company’s earnings or was the salary money brought from somewhere else also? Was Rs 20 crore spent on furnishing offices?

The investigation branch will also interrogate the companies furnishing the offices. Earlier, Shilpa Shetty had sought permission from the court to go abroad, but the court had rejected the petition saying that first pay the fraudulent amount and then go where you want to go.

Adani Group is once again under scrutiny—this time the target is their defense unit, Adani Defense Systems & Technologies. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is investigating this unit from March 2025. It is alleged that the company has evaded import tariffs worth ₹77 crore ($9 million). Tax exemptions were wrongly claimed on missile components the company imported. This case is much larger than Adani Defence’s earnings for 2024–25—this amount is 10% of their annual revenue and more than half of their profit. The components include non-explosive missile parts, which have been imported from Russia, Israel and Canada. Adani Group has said that it has given all the documents to the DRI and according to it “the issue is closed,” but it did not clarify whether any tax dues were paid or not. This investigation is taking place at a time when Adani Group recently got a clean chit in stock manipulation cases, but is still facing a lot of regulatory scrutiny.