Central Excise registration and compliance: manufacturer liability, returns, payments and CENVAT credit govern excise obligations. Excise duty is a tax on manufacture or production, primarily administered as Central Excise under the Central Excise Act, 1944, with liability placed on the actual manufacturer. Registration (not licence) is required for manufacturers of dutiable goods and certain dealers, while specified categories are exempt subject to turnover and conditional limits. Compliance includes prescribed registration procedure with PAN, periodic returns (quarterly for SSI; monthly for others), timely duty deposit using prescribed challans and interest/penalties for defaults. The CENVAT Credit scheme permits credit of duties/taxes on inputs, capital goods and input services subject to rules and documentation. Export and EOU regimes allow duty free procurement under licences and set out sealing, documentation and conditional domestic sale rules.