The Department of Central Excise and Service Tax today launched a new software application at its Belapur Commissionerate near here to improve services, transparency, accountability and efficiency in indirect tax administration.

The software, Automation of Central Excise and Service Tax (ACES), is a mission mode project under the national e-governance plan. It enables assesses to obtain registration under Central Excise or Service Tax on-line to electronically file statutory returns, claims, intimations and view and track the status of these documents online.

"The centralised web-enabled software will eventually replace the current mode of manual filing of returns, seeking refund or rebate of taxes, obtaining various permissions and approvals from the department and dispute resolution by an electronic interface," Central Board of Excise and Customs Chairman P C Jha told reporters here.

"ACES will replace the current applications of SERMON and SACER used in Central excise for capturing returns and registration details of the assesses," he said.

"The users will themselves be able to take assesses' registration online, electronically file statutory returns and claims. They will also get business related alerts or messages," Jha said.