Under the excise laws, the following are the various types of duties which are levied:-

Basic duty : This is the basic duty levied under the Central Excise Act.

Special excise duty : This special duty is levied under special circumstances where the levy of such additional duty is justifiable or found necessary to protect other industries.

Additional Duty in lieu of Sales Tax : It can be charged on all goods by the central government to counter balance exemptions from sales tax granted by various State Governments to the detriment of industries in other States.

Additional Duty on specified items under the Act : If the Tariff Commission set up by law recommends that in order to protect the interests of industry, the Central Government may levy additional duties at the rate recommended on specified goods. The notification for levy of such duties must be introduced in the Parliament in the next session by way of a bill or in the same session, if the Parliament is in session. If the bill is not passed within six months of introduction in Parliament, the notification ceases to have force but the action already undertaken under the notification remains valid. Such duty will be payable upto the date specified in the notification. Such duty may be cancelled or varied by notification. Such notification must also be placed before Parliament for approval as above.

It is noteworthy that "basic excise duty" is different from "special excise duty" or "additional duty of excise". Therefore an exemption from basic duty does not mean that exemption from special duty or additional duty has also been granted unless there is an express provision to that effect regarding the exemption in the notification.