The amendments have come into effect from July 1. These were made in pursuance with the announcement of the finance minister Yashwant Sinha in his budget speech for 2000-2001.

However, dispensation of statutory records will not result in complete freedom from keeping records for the manufacturers.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in an instruction related to the notification, to its officials, has clarified that dispensation of statutory records maintained hitherto in prescribed performance should not be construed as complete freedom and dispensation of record keeping altogether. The instruction said that certain minimum records every manufacturer has to maintain for his own internal control.

The instruction pointed out that for effective enforcement of any tax system, assessees will have to maintain certain basic records.

"So long as manufacturer keeps methodically those basic records on regular basis which also contains the information required by tax administration for checking whether all production is accounted for and duties due are paid or not, there may be no need to insist on separate statutory records being maintained as per prescribed performance for excise purposes," it said.

In the changes effected, the maintenance of detailed records as per prescribed formats for excise purposes has been done away with, but the related rules will continue with some amendments. "These rules indicate the minimum information, which the assessee must maintain in his own private records_to be made available to Department if required for checking that the provisions of law are being complied with and all duties are being paid," the instruction said. The govt has also made some changes in the timing for payment of excise duty through the notification issued on June 30.

Under the new provisions relating to manner of payment of central excise duty on fortnightly-basis, it has been provided that for the second fortnight, the duty can be discharged by the fifth day of the succeeding month. The date of furnishing of the returns has now been extended upto the tenth day of the succeeding month. "The assessees were finding it difficult to furnish actual duty payment details in the RT-12 returns which was also required to be submitted within five days of the succeeding month in terms of rule 54/rule 173(G)," according to the revenue department.