An invoice is the document under cover of which the excisable goods are to be cleared by the manufacturer. This is also the document which indicates the assessment of the goods to duty. No excisable goods can be cleared except under an invoice.
Rule 11 of the Central Excise (No.2) Rules, 2001 provides that no excisable goods shall be removed from a factory or a warehouse except under an invoice signed by the owner of the factory or his authorised agent.
In case of cigarettes, which is under physical control, the Factory Officers are posted by rotation in the factory (If the factory operation is 24 hours, the officers are posted 24 hours), will check the operations as per the instructions contained in commodity manual for cigarettes. Accordingly, in the case of cigarettes, each invoice shall also be countersigned by the Inspector of Central Excise or the Superintendent of Central Excise before the cigarettes are removed from the factory.
The invoice shall be serially numbered and shall contain the registration number, description, classification, time and date of removal, rate of duty, quantity and value, of goods and the duty payable thereon. The serial number shall commence from 1st April every year [beginning of a financial year].
The serial number can be given at the time of printing or by using franking machine. But when the invoice book is authenticated in the manner specified in sub-rule (5) of rule 11, each leaf should contain serial number. Hand written serial number shall not be accepted.
In case of computer-generated invoice, the serial number may be allowed to be generated and printed by computer at the time of preparation of invoice ONLY IF the software is such that computer automatically generates the number and same number cannot be generated more than once. For this purpose, the Central Excise Officers may check the system/software from time to time.
The invoice shall be prepared in triplicate:
The original copy being marked as Original For Buyer
The duplicate copy being marked as Duplicate For Transporter
The triplicate copy being marked as Triplicate For Assessee
The above requirement is mainly for Central Excise purposes. However, the assessee may make more than three copies for his other requirements. But such copies shall be prominently marked Not for Cenvat Purposes.
The rule 11of the Central Excise (No.2) Rules, 2001 provides that only one invoice book shall be in use at a time, unless otherwise allowed by the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise in the special facts and circumstances of each case.
The Board has decided that where assessee requires two different invoice books for the purposes of removals for home-consumption, and removals for export they may do so by intimating the jurisdictional Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise.
Wherever, an assessee is allowed to keep more than one invoice book, he should be asked to keep different numerical serial numbers for the different sets.
In case of running stationary used in computers, the bound book shall not be insisted upon provided the stationary is pre-printed with distinctive names and marks of the assessee. After the invoices are prepared, the triplicate copy shall be retained in bound-book form. Where invoices are to be typed written, the leafs have to be first taken out from the book for typing. In such cases also the triplicate copy shall be retained in bound-book form.
The rule provides that owner or working partner or Managing Director or Company Secretary shall authenticate each foil of the invoice book, before being brought into use. However, in order to facilitate the trade it has been decided that any person duly authorised in this regard by the Company, owner or working partner may also authenticate invoices. Copy of the letter of authority should be submitted to the Range office.
Before making use of the invoice book, the serial numbers of the same shall be intimated to the Superintendent of Central Excise having jurisdiction over the factory of the assessee. This can be done in writing by post/e-mail/fax/hand delivery or any other similar means.
The amount of duty being shown in invoices issued under rule 11 of the Central Excise (No.2) Rules, 2001 be rounded off to the nearest rupee as provided for under Section 37D of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and the duty amount so rounded off should be indicated both in words as well as in figures.
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