Provisional attachment authorises excise officers to attach taxpayer property with commissioner approval, subject to time limits and extensions. Provisional attachment allows Central Excise officers, with prior written approval of the Commissioner/Principal Commissioner and under rules framed via the Customs Act, to provisionally attach property of persons facing specified enforcement proceedings to protect revenue; such attachments lapse after six months but may be extended by the Chief Commissioner for reasons recorded in writing subject to an overall maximum, with the period of pending settlement applications excluded from the extension calculation.