RULE 52A. Goods to be delivered on an invoice

(1) No excisable goods shall be delivered from a factory or a warehouse except under an invoice signed by the owner of the factory or his authorised agent:

Provided that when the excisable goods, other than those to which the provisions of Chapter VIIA apply, are removed on payment of duty such invoice shall be required to be countersigned by the proper officer.

Explanation. -In this rule, and in any other rule, where the term invoice or gate pass, as the case may be, is used it shall mean -

(i) assessee own document such as invoice, challans, advice or other document of similar nature generally used for sale or removal of excisable goods and which shall contain all the particulars as required under the said Act or in these rules; or

(ii) such other form as the Central Board of Excise and Customs may notify .

(2) The invoice shall be made out in quadruplicate. The original copy shall be for the buyer, the duplicate for the transporter, and the triplicate shall be retained by the manufacturer. The manufacturer may make extra copies of the invoice for his own use and each such extra copy shall be clearly marked with its sequential number. The duplicate copy shall be produced by the transporter on demand by any officer while the goods are en route to such destination from the factory:

Provided that in respect of removal of excisable goods consumed within the factory for manufacture of other goods in a continuous process, the manufacturer may make out a single invoice, at the end of the day:

Provided further that for any excisable goods, other than those to which the provisions of Chapter VII-A apply, the invoice shall be presented to the proper officer for counter-signature at least one hour before the actual removal of goods from the factory. After counter-signature the proper officer shall return all the copies of the invoice to the manufacturer except the triplicate required for his record.

(3) The copies of the invoices shall be marked at the top in bold capital letters in the following manner, namely: -
(i) the original copy shall be marked as ORIGINAL FOR BUYER; (ii) the duplicate copy shall be marked as DUPUCATE FOR TRANS- PORTER ; (iii) the triplicate copy shall be marked as TRIPLICATE FOR ASSESSEE.

(4) If all the packages comprising a consignment are dispatched in one lot at anyone time, only one invoice shall be made out in respect of the consignment. If, however, a consignment is split up into two or more lots each of which is dispatched separately either on the same day or on different days, a separate invoice shall be made out in respect of each such lot. In case a consignment is loaded on more than one vehicle, vessel, pack animal or other means of conveyance, which do not travel together but separately or at intervals, a separate invoice shall be made out in respect of each vehicle, vessel, pack animal or other conveyance.

(5) Invoice shall be maintained in two sets - (i) one for clearance for home consumption; and (ii) the other for clearances for export.

(6) Each invoice shall bear a printed seria1 running for the whole financial year beginning on the 1st April of each year. Only one invoice book of each type shall be used by a factory for removal of excisable goods at anyone time unless otherwise specially permitted by the Commissioner in writing.

(7) Each foil of the invoice book shall be authenticated by the owner or working partner or Managing Director/Company Secretary, as the case may be, before being brought into use by the manufacturer. The serial number of the invoice, before being brought into use, shall be intimated to the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise or Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise and dated acknowledgment of receipt of such intimation shall be retained by the manufacturer provided that the Commissioner may, by a general or special order, exempt an assessee or class of assessee from pre-authentication of each foil of invoice book and from intimating the serial number of the invoice.