1.  This Act  may  be cited as the Excise Duty Act, 2017  and shall come  into operation immediately upon being assented to by the President.

2.    This Act shall apply in Zanzibar for excisable goods and services as specified under this Act.

3.   In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

"aircraft" includes every description of craft used in aerial navigation;

"arms length principle" means an internationally accepted and preferred basis for determining the transfer price of a transaction between associated persons;

"authori zed officer" means the officer appointed by the Commissioner to perform any duties under this Act;

"beer"  includes ale, porter, and any other description of beer and any liquor which is made and sold as a description of, o r substitute for, beer and which

contains more than two per centum of proof spirit but does not include local liquor as defined in the law relating to Intoxicating and Liquors;

"cigar" means a cigar, cheroot or cigarillo prepared from tobacco;

"cigarette" means a cigarette prepared from tobacco and includes any form of tip, and the paper of the cigarette;

"Commissioner"  means  a  person  appointed  under  section  14  of  Zanzibar Revenue Board Act, No. 7 of 1996;

"days" does not include Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays; "dutiable value" means in relation to:

(a)  the use of mobile phone, is amount payable for any electronic communication  service supplied  in  relation to  the  use of a mobile phone, fixed or wireless phone;

(b)   prepaid  electronic  communication  service,  IS  the face  value of  the voucher at a sale;

(c)   pay to view television service, is the amount payable for any service supplied in relation to pay-to-view televi sion;

(d)   financial services, is the amount of charges and fees payable for the service; and

(e)     imported non- utility vehicle chargeable by the custom value. "electronic communication service" means a service of any d escription provided

by a person or a company by means of any transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, writings, images and sounds or intelligible information of any nature, by wire, optical, visual or other electromagnetic means or systems, including:

(a)   voice, voice mail, data services, audio text services, video text services, radio paging and other emerging electronic communication services;

(b)   fixed telephone services including provi sion of access to and use of the public switched or non-switched telephone network for the transmission and switching of voice, data and video, inbound and outbound telephone service to and from national and international destinations;