An excise duty [or a countervailing duty as the case may be], at such rate or rates as the [State Government] shall direct, may be imposed either generally or for any specified local area, on any excisable article imported or exported, or transported or manufactured, cultivated or collected under any Licence granted under this Act, or manufactured in any distillery, pot-still or brewery established or licensed under this Act.
Duty may be imposed under this section at different rates according to the places to which any excisable article or intoxicating drug is to be removed for consumption or according to the varying strength and quality of such article. ["28-A. Surcharge for mitigating natural or manmade calamities- (1) Any excisable article chargeable with duty under section 28, shall be chargeable with surcharge at such rate not exceeding 50 percent of the duty chargeable on such excisable article under section 28, as may be notified by the State Government, for the purpose of mitigating natural or man-made calamities like drought, flood, epidemic, public health exigencies, fire etc.
(2) The surcharge chargeable under sub-section (1) shall be in addition to any duty under section 28.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in sub-section (1), provisions of this Act shall, so far as may be, apply in relation to the surcharge, leviable under sub-section (1) as they apply in relation to the duty leviable under section 28.
(4) Save as provided in sub-section (3), the State Government may make rules for collection of surcharge leviable under this section.
(5) The surcharge collected under this section shall be utilized for the purpose of mitigating natural or manmade calamities like drought, flood, epidemic, public health exigencies, fire etc.".