Circular No. 29 dated 21^st March 1994

I am directed to invite your attention to the provisions of Rules 52A and 173C of Central Excise Rules, 1944, as introduced by Notification No. 4/94-CE (NT) dated 1.3.94. These provisions come into force w.e.f. 1st April 1994.

Though Rule 52A provides for printing of running Sl.No. on each invoice from 1st January of each year, for the current year serial numbering of the invoice shall commence from 1st April, 1994.

Before invoice books are taken into use, the Sl. No. of the invoices in the books shall be communicated to the jurisdictional Assistant Collector of Central Excise. It is not necessary that Sl.No. of each invoice is intimated to the Assistant Collector of Central Excise before being issued. The Collector is authorised to permit use of more than one invoice book of each type at any one time under sub-rule 6 of Rule 52A, as long as the Serial Numbers are different.

As per sub rule 7 of Rule 52A, authentication of invoice books is to be done by the owner or working partner or Managing Director, Company Secretary as the case may be, Rule 3 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, provides that agent of owner of goods shall be deemed owner of such goods. As such in the case of a proprietary or partnership concern, an owner or working partner or a employee, holding power of attorney for pre-authentication of invoices, can authenticate the invoices. In case of a company the Managing Director, Company Secretary, or an Officer of the Company who is so authorised by the Board of Directors can authenticate the invoices.

The assessees invoice will now be used as a transport document as well as the basis for determining the assessable value under Section 4 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 in lieu of Gate Pass and the Price List. Multiplicity of documents required for Central Excise purposes is being reduced.

In addition to the information normally included in the invoice by the assessee for his own purpose, he will be required to incorporate the information in terms as in Annexure attached.

Assessee who are covered by the second proviso to Rule 173C (1), will also file a declaration as prescribed in Annexure I, II or III as the case may be. Thus the majority of the assessees are enabled to reduce paper work and use only invoices for all purposes.

Assessee shall file the declaration with the Range Superintendent in proforma at Annexure I or II in triplicate at the beginning of each financial year and thereafter, as and when there is a change in the value or marketing pattern. The Range Superintendent shall acknowledge the receipt of the declaration. The Range Superintendent will check the declaration with the previous declaration and other relevant material and submit all the copies of the declaration to the Divisional Assistant Collector alongwith his verification report within 15 days.

The Divisional Assistant Collector will examine the declaration and endorse his acceptance on it. He will send one copy of the declaration to the Range Superintendent another copy to the Valuation Cell of the Collectorates Office and retain the third copy with him.

Annexure III will be filed in quadruplicate with the Range Superintendent who after verification will submit all the copies of the declaration to the Divisional Assistant Collector within 10 days. Divisional Assistant Collector will forward two copies of the declaration to the focal Assistant Collector incharge of the factory nearest to the head office of the assessee. After conducting such enquiries as necessary, the focal Assistant Collector will accept the value as declared in the annexure. He will, thereafter, retain one copy of the declaration with him and return the other copy duly endorsed to the Divisional Assistant Collector in charge of the declarant factory. On receipt of the accepted declaration, the Divisional Assistant Collector will make an endorsement on other copies of the declaration; send one copy to the Range Superintendent and another to the Valuation Cell of the Collectorates.

In case the information contained in the declaration is not found to be correct, the Divisional Assistant Collector may cause necessary enquiry to be conducted as contemplated in Sub-Rule 3 of Rule 173C. In case, the declared value is not acceptable he should issue an expellable order after observing the principles of natural justice.

The basis of assessment is the value as declared in the invoice. While assessing the RT-12 returns, the Range Superintendent will, therefore, check whether the assessable value has been correctly determined. In case he finds that the assessable value as declared in the invoice is not prima facie acceptable, he should refer the case to the Divisional Assistant Collector who will cause enquiry into the correctness of the value declared as contemplated in Sub-Rule 3 of Rule 173C. On completion of such enquiry the Assistant Collector of the Division will issue an expellable order and send a copy to the Range Superintendent who will then finalise the assessment on the RT 12 return. The Assistant Collector, in such situations can also resort to provisional assessment, wherever necessary. The assessees also have the right as at present, to request for provisional assessment to be ordered by the Assistant Collector, situations provided for in the Act and the Rules for this purpose.

The unnumbered draft Circular, used on 18th instant during the Principal Collector�s/Collectors meeting at New Delhi may be treated as a working paper only, and not as instructions.

Instructions and Circulars, which have been issued earlier but inconsistent with aforesaid instructions, shall be deemed to have superseded.

Suitable trade notices may be issued for the information of the trade

Encl: Annexures A, I, II & III

ANNEXURE "A"

PARTICULARS REQUIRED TO BE INCORPORATED IN THE INVOICE

I)      Full postal address of Range and Division:

II)     Name, and address and Code Number/

        Registration Number of Factory/ Warehouse:

III)    Name and Address of consignee:

IV)    Description and Specification of goods:

V)     Number and Description of Packages:

VI)    Total quantity of goods (net):

VII)   Total Price of goods:

VIII)   Details of deductions/additions made to

        arrive at value under section 4 of the Act:

IX)    Assessable Value/ Tariff Value per unit:

X)     Total assessable value/ tariff value:

XI)    Tariff heading Number/ Exemption

        Notification No.:

XII)   Rate of duty:

XIII)   Total duty paid (Both in words and figures):

XIV)  Serial Number of debit entry in PLA/RG-23:

XV)   Date and time of issue of invoice:

XVI)  Date and time of removal of goods:

XVII)  Mode of transport and motor vehicle

        Registration number:

XVIII) Appropriate certificate as below:

Certified that the particulars given above are true and correct and the amount indicated represents the price actually charged and that there is no flow of additional consideration directly or indirectly from the buyer.

OR

Certified that the particulars given above are true and correct and the amount indicated is provisional, as additional consideration will be received from the buyer on account of _______________________