Determination of lesser excise duty: Assistant Collector may fix duty below SCN amount without formal amendment. Following the Attorney General's view that higher slab rates apply where cigarettes were sold above declared prices, prior tariff-rate instructions were superseded and SCNs revised. The Law Ministry clarified that under Section 11A the Assistant Collector may, after considering representations, determine the amount of duty due up to the amount specified in the notice; if the duty due is less, the Assistant Collector may fix the lesser amount without a formal amendment to the SCN. Field formations are to dispose of pending SCNs accordingly.