I am directed to refer to Circular No. 29/29/94 issued in F.No. 212/3/94-CX.6 wherein your attention was invited to the provision of Rules 52 A vide Notification No. 4/94-CE (N.T.) dated 1.3.94.

2.     It has been brought to the notice of the Board that in many cases the invoices being issued to clear excisable goods are not bearing any printed running serial numbers and that the serial numbers are assigned only after receiving the printed invoice books. These numbers are many a time written by hand in clear violation of Rule 52-A (6). It is obvious that unscrupulous manufacturer in such cases, may evade central excise duty by using the same running numbers on the various invoices.

3.     You are directed to conduct a survey of all the duty paying units to ensure that the invoices bear printed serial numbers running for the whole financial year. In fact, wherever any instances of infringement of this Rule are detected, an offence case should be booked promptly and deterrent action taken. Moreover, such units should be kept in the suspect list and their clearances monitored through effective surveillance. It must also be ensured that Rule 32 (7) is properly implemented in the field.