CENTRAL EXCISE RETURNS:-

ER-1 : Monthly return for production and removal of goods and Cenvat Credit
ER-2 : Monthly return on excisable goods manufactured and input/capital goods received.
ER-3 : Quarterly return for clearance of goods and Cenvat credit
ER-4 : Annual Financial Information Statement,
ER-5 : Cenvat-Annual return for principal input
ER-6 : Cenvat-Monthly return for principal input,

CENTRAL EXCISE LEVIABLE:-
1. Central Excise is a Tax on act of manufacture or production while sale tax is a tax on act of sale and for custom duty it is a tax on import of goods within custom barriers. Excise is collected, on the goods manufactured or produced, at the time of their removal from the factory.
2. With effect from 9-7-2004, an education cess @2% of the aggregate duties of customs and excise is leviable.With effect from 1-3-2007, a further secondary and Higher education cess @1% has been imposed. However, the education cess will be available as credit for paying education cess on final excisable product as provided for Cenvat Credit Rule. If goods are fully exempted from duty or chargeable to nil duty or are cleared without payment of duty under prescribed procedure, such as clearance under bond, no cess would be leviable.

CENTRAL EXCISE REGISTRATION:-
Person requiring registration:- The following category of person require registration:-
1. Every manufacturer of dutiable excisable goods,
2. First and second stage dealer (including manufacturer’s depots and importers) desiring to issue cenvatable invoices,
3. Person holding warehouses for storing non duty paid goods,
4. Person who obtain excisable goods for availing end used based exemption,
Separate registration is required in respect of separate premises (factory, depot, godown etc.) except in cases where two or more premises are actually part of the same factory (where processes are interlinked) but are segregated by public road, canal or railway line.

Person exempt for registration:-
1. Manufacturers of goods which are chargeable to nil rate of duty or are fully exempt. They should however, file the prescribed declaration in the beginning of every financial year,
2.Person who gets their goods manufactured by others, except the person who gets certain textile item manufactured on job work,
3. Person manufacturing excisable goods under the custom warehousing procedure subject to certain condition,
4. Wholesale trader or dealer of excisable goods (except first stage dealer, second stage dealer and depot)
5. Job work of goods under ch.61 &62,on behalf of another person who undertakes to pay duty and comply with all the procedure,
6.Approved/licensed units in export processing zone, SEZ, and 100% export oriented unit, deeming EOUs/EPZ units are registered are not applicable if such units are having clearance in or procurement from domestic traffic area.

Procedure for registration:-
1. Application for registration:-Before starting production of excisable goods or dealership for the purpose of issuing invoices to pass Cenvat credit, registration should be obtained. The application form specified for this purpose is given in annexure I.
2. Registration certificate:-The registration certificate in prescribed format [Form RC annexure 2] will be issued within 7 days. Normally RC can be obtained across the table on the date of application itself.
3. Parmanent nature of RC:-Registration certificate once issued is permanent except when it is suspended or revoked .RC is not required to be renewed.
4. No fee for registration:-Registration certificate is free of charge and there is no fee prescribed for the same.
5. Same form for intimation of charges:-The same application form is to be used for intimating change in the information furnished originally at the time of applying for registration certificate. Manufacture of new or additional product need not to be intimated.
6. Transfer of business:-Excise registration is premises specific. But it is non transferable and hence, when the business is transferred to another person by way of sale or lease, the person taking over the business should take fresh registration in his name.
7. Change in constitution:-If the entity holding central excise registration is a firm or company or association of person, any change in the constitution should be intimated to the concerned central excise officer within 30 days.
8. De-registration:-If the business is not carried, registration certificate should be surrendered to the superintendent of central excise. A declaration specified for this purpose should be given while surrendering RC.
9.Quoting RC number:-The PAN based excise registration number is required to be printed on the top of on all central excise invoice, duty payment challans,PLA and other form/document textile unit coming into excise fold for the first time can clear their goods and pay duty pending grant of registration.
10. Revocation or suspension of registration:-For contravention of provision of central excise act 1944/central excise rule 2002 and other specified offences, RC can be suspended or revoked by the deputy/assistant commissioner. As there are separate penal provision tom take care of various infraction, this is seldom resorted to.

MEANING OF MANUFACTURE:-
To levy central excise duty, it is necessary that new article should come into existence as a result of manufacturing activity, unless there is a finding of manufacture, excise duty is not attracted. Thus the term manufacture is of significant importance in central excise field. The expression ‘manufacture’ has been defined in section 2(f) of the act according to which it includes any process,-
(i) Incidental or ancillary to the completion of manufactured product,
(ii) Which is specified in relation to any goods in the section or chapter note of the schedule to the central excise tariff act,1985 as amounting to manufacture; or
(iii) Which, in relation to the goods specified in the third schedule [MRP goods etc] involve packing or repacking of such goods in a unit container or labeling or relabeling of container including the declaration or alteration of retail sale price on it or adoption of any other treatment on the goods to render the product marketable to the consumer,

Small Scale Industry & Excise Exemption:-
(1) For the purpose of assisting smaller industrial units, excise duty exemption has been granted to such units. As per excise, the definition of Small Scale Industry (SSI) is different from the one adopted commonly for trade purpose. A manufacturing unit is considered as SSI in Excise when:
* Total value of clearances of excisable goods for home consumption does not exceed Rs.4 crores during previous financial year,
* The unit is not required to pay excise duty till its clearance value reaches Rs.1.50 crores.
Even if eligible, a person has option not to avail this exemption. He can pay normal rate of duty and such option cannot be withdrawn during the financial year. He should intimate his intention of not availing exemption before removing goods on payment of duty. SSIs need not get registration certificate till they cross the exemption limit. A declaration has been prescribed in annexure 4 which is required to be filled with deputy/ asst.commissioner when the value of clearance crosses Rs.90 lakhs. The exemption is subject to several conditions. Cenvat credit of duty paid on input cannot be taken while under exemption. In case of duty paid on capital goods, Cenvat credit can be taken and accumulated but can be utilized only after crossing exemption limit. An eligible person who has been paying excise duty but wishes to avail SSI exemption, should pay an amount equivalent to Cenvat credit taken on input lying in stock or in process or contained in final product lying in stock on the date of choosing to avail exemption.
(2) For computing the ceiling/monetary limit of clearances for eligibility under SSI notification in respect of commodities whose assessable value is determined under section 4A (MRP less notified report), such assemble value will be taken as the value. Clearance at full exemption rate also to be taken into consideration to determine the aggregate ceiling of Rs.4Crores but not deemed export to FTZ/SEZ/100%EOU/EHTP/ESTP units or supplies to U.N.O agencies etc. Under notification number.108/95-C.E or goods produced on job work basis. However for determining the limit of first Rs. 150 lakhs, fully exempted (under another notification) or nil rated clearance do not count.