Excise - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition excise

Definition :

Excise [fr. acciis, Dut.; excisum, Lat.], the name given to the duties or taxes laid on certain articles produced and consumed at home, amongst which spirits have always been the most important; but, exclusive of these, the duties on the licences of auctioneers, brewers, etc., and on the licences to keep dogs, kill game, etc., are included in the excise duties.

Excise duties were introduced into England by the Long Parliament in 1643, being then laid on the makers and vendors of ale, beer, cider, and perry. The management of the excise, originally and for a long time entrusted to special commissioners [ss to whom see the (English) Excise Management Act, 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 53)], was, in 1849, by 12 Vict. c. 1, transferred to the Board of Inland Revenue, and in 1909 to the Board of Customs and Excise.

A tax imposed on the manufacture sale, or use of goods (such as a cigarette tax) or on occupation or actively, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 585.

Consult Bell and Dwelly's Excise Acts, published in 1873; Halsbury's Laws of England, tit. 'Revenue'; and Chitty's Statutes, tit. 'Revenue.'