Subject:    Rounding off of Central Excise Duty in the Invoices under Rule 52A/ 57GG/ 57T

        I am directed to say that instances have come to the notice of the Board wherein some unscrupulous assessees availed MODVAT credit fraudulently by tampering the duty amount shown in the input Gate Passes/ Invoices in their RG. 23A Part - II Register. The duty amounts were found to be inflated by adding additional zeros. This point also came up in the oral evidence before the Public Accounts Committee in the case of M/s Sipani Automobiles Limited, Bangalore.

2.    The Board has examined the matter in the above context and with a view to preventing such type of frauds in future, has decided that amount of duty being shown in 52A/57GG/ 57T invoices should be rounded off to the nearest rupee as provided for under Section 37D of Central Excise & Salt Act, 1944. It is also desired that the duty amount so rounded off should be indicated both in words as well in figures.