Matches, Introduction, Procurement of Central Excise Stamps, Safety of Stamps, Account of Central Excise Stamps purchased and used. Time and manner of affixing Central Excise Stamps Method of packing, Disposal of matches and of damaged Stamps.

Introduction
Procurement of Central Excise Stamps
Safety of stamps
Account of Central Excise Stamps purchased and used
Time and manner of affixing Central Excise Stamps
Method of packing
Disposal of matches and of damaged Central Excise Stamps
Marking of Matches intended for export
Removal of matches bearing Central Excise Stamps purchased on credit

PART V
MATCHES

1. Introduction
   
   1.1 The Board has issued Notification No. 50/2001-Central Excise (N.T.) dated 26.6.2001 whereby under Rule 14 of the Central Excise (No.2) Rules, 2001 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘said Rules’), procedure for procurement, accounting and disposal of Central Excise Stamps and matters pertaining to production, storage, control, removal and payment of duty on matches have been notified.
   
   1.2 The payment of duty on the matches shall be by way of affixing the said stamps on the goods.
   
2. Procurement of Central Excise Stamps
   
   2.1 Procedure for procurement of central excise stamps is, as follows:
   1. All Central Excise Stamps shall be procured from a district Revenue Treasury or Sub-Treasury.
   2. 1. A registered person wishing to obtain Central Excise Stamps for cash shall submit to the treasury a challan in quintuplicate for the amount to be paid, specifying on the reverse the number and class of Central Excise Stamps required, together with their price. The treasury shall accept the amount specified in the challan and shall return the duplicate, triplicate and quintuplicate copies of the receipted challan to the registered person.
      2. The registered person shall present duplicate and quintuplicate copies of the challan to the Inspector or Superintendent in-charge of the factory who, after satisfying himself about the correctness of the amount remitted, shall return the quintuplicate copy to the assessee with an endorsement to the District Revenue Treasury Officer or Sub-Treasury Officer to issue the appropriate number of Central Excise Stamps. The registered person shall present quintuplicate copy with such endorsement to the District Revenue Treasury Officer or Sub-Treasury Officer, who shall thereafter supply the Central Excise Stamps to the registered person.
   3. A registered person wishing to obtain Central Excise Stamps on credit shall execute a bond in the Form specified in Annexure 31 with such surety or sufficient security as the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise may require.
   4. When the provisions of sub-paragraph (c) have been complied with, the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise shall, after due inquiry, authorise the issue of Central Excise Stamps on credit to the registered person and shall communicate the same to the District Revenue Treasury Officer or Sub-Treasury Officer concerned and to the Superintendent in charge of the factory with full particulars of bond executed and the extent of credit granted. The number of Central Excise Stamps to be supplied at a time shall not exceed the average out-turn of the factory for a number of days, not exceeding thirty to be fixed by the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise. However, the total price of the unused stamps in balance with the registered person and of those indented shall not be more than the security furnished.
   5. A registered person authorised to obtain Central Excise Stamps on credit shall for each supply submit to the Superintendent in charge of the factory a requisition in quadruplicate in the Form annexed as Annexure 32. If satisfied that the details stated in the requisition are correct the said officer shall retain the triplicate for his own record and send the original, duplicate and quadruplicate to the District Revenue Treasury Officer or Sub- Treasury Officer concerned, who shall retain the original in his office, issue the number of Central Excise Stamps required, return the duplicate, duly endorsed to the said officer and send the quadruplicate copy to the Chief Accounts Officer of the Commissionerate.
      
3. Safety of stamps
   
   3.1 The manufacturer shall keep all his Central Excise Stamps, whether procured for cash or on credit, in a secure place within the factory premises, and shall keep them open for inspection at any time by any officer.
   
   3.2 The inspector or Superintendent in charge of the factory may at any time examine the stock of the Central Excise Stamps on any working day and check the balance with that shown in the register and shall record the result in the register. If any Central Excise Stamps procured on credit are missing or unaccounted for, he shall call on the registered person to pay immediately into the Treasury the full price thereof and to produce the treasury challan within a week.
   
4. Account of Central Excise Stamps purchased and used
   
   4.1 The manufacturer shall maintain an account of quantity and value of-
   1. Central Excise Stamps purchased for cash and on credit;
   2. Central Excise Stamps affixed on boxes or booklets;
   3. Central Excise Stamps damaged and handed over to the Inspector or Superintendent in charge of the factory; and
   4. Central Excise Stamps lost in the process or not otherwise accounted for.
      
      
   4.2 The manufacturer shall submit to the Superintendent incharge of the factory monthly return in the Form annexed as Annexure 33 before the tenth day of the month following that to which the return relates.
   
5. Time and manner of affixing Central Excise Stamps
   
   5.1 As soon as possible, after matches are finished, they shall, unless intended for export, be put into boxes or booklets which shall then, save as otherwise provided by these procedures, be affixed with Central Excise Stamps and enclosed in packets or other outer coverings as the case may be.
   
   5.2 Every Central Excise Stamp shall be so affixed that –
   1. the box or booklet on which the Central Excise Stamp is affixed can not be opened without tearing the Central Excise Stamp;
   2. when it is affixed to a box, the Central Excise Stamp shall cover one side of the inner tray and a part of the rear or bottom or front or top of the outer box, and the Central Excise Stamp itself shall not be covered by either the factory’s label or any advertisement label;
      
      
   5.3 Where the matches are intended for export out of India, the Central Excise Stamps need not be affixed thereto and, unless they are to be exported without payment of duty in accordance with rule 19 of the said Rules, the duty shall be paid by the assessee before removal of each consignment by debit to the account current maintained by him.
   
   5.4 Where the Board is satisfied that by reason of the fact that the necessary Central Excise Stamps are not available or for any other relevant reason it is necessary or expedient so to do, it may, by general or special order, allow the duty on matches to be paid, without affixing Central Excise Stamps to such box or booklet, by debit to the account current before the removal of each consignment subject to any condition which may be imposed in the order.
   
6. Method of packing
   
   6.1 No packet or case containing boxes or booklets of matches, other than those intended for export out of India and those to which the provisions of the paragraph 4(c) above apply, shall be closed and reckoned as a unit unless a Central Excise Stamp of the appropriate class has been affixed to each box or booklet in the specified manner.
   
   6.2 Each case or packet shall contain only an integral number whether one hundred boxes or booklets of matches or multiples thereof. The boxes or booklets in each case or packet shall contain the same number of matches on the average and shall, except where the matches are exempted from bearing Central Excise Stamps, bear Central Excise Stamps of the same class.
   
   6.3 Every packet, box or booklet, or the manufacturers label affixed thereto shall bear in clearly discernable characters, the name of the factory or a distinguishing mark, which may take the form of a special design whereby the origin of the matches can be traced. Specimens of all such labels shall be submitted to the Superintendent in-charge of the factory duly declaring the ownership of the label before that are brought into use. In case, the label is owned by some other manufacturer, a consent letter from the owner of the label duly declaring the rate of duty applicable to him, should also be filed.
   
   6.4 Each case or packet of matches shall be legibly marked in ink or oil colour with progressive number, commencing with number 1, for each year and in different series for each class of matches, the number of boxes or booklets in hundreds contained in each case or packet and the grade of Central Excise Stamps affixed thereto.
   
   6.5 Every box or booklet of matches, issued for home consumption, shall have on the box or booklet, or on the manufacturers label affixed thereto, a statement in clearly discernable character of the sticks contained in the box or booklet, and of the retail price at which the manufacturer intends that the box or booklet should be sold. However, the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise may, by an order in writing and subject to such limitations and conditions, as may be prescribed by him in the order, relax this requirement.
   
7. Disposal of matches and of damaged Central Excise Stamps
   
   7.1 If any Central Excise Stamps are torn during examination or inspection taken up by the Inspector or Superintendent of Central Excise, the said officer may order that the containers to which they are affixed shall be returned to the registered person for re-stamping and shall be replaced immediately by an equal number of boxes or booklets of the same class from the finished stock.
   
   7.2 If examination or inspection by the Inspector or Superintendent of Central Excise shows that Central Excise Stamps of insufficient value have been affixed, the said officer may order the boxes or booklets in question to be returned to the factory, where the Central Excise Stamps shall be removed and replaced by others of the proper value.
   
8. Marking of Matches intended for export
   
   8.1 All boxes or booklets containing matches intended for export and on which no Central Excise Stamps have been affixed, shall be packed into cases or packets on which shall be pasted labels inscribed " Matches not affixed with Central Excise Stamps for Export" and shall be entered in daily stock account maintained under rule 10 of the said Rules.
   
9. Removal of matches bearing Central Excise Stamps purchased on credit
   
   9.1 When it is desired to remove matches bearing Central Excise Stamps purchased on credit, the registered person shall, unless he maintains an account current with the Commissioner, pay the price of the Central Excise Stamps and no such matches may be removed until after the price of the Central Excise Stamps has been so paid or has been debited to such account current, if any.