Exemption on first clearances: duty relief tiers for eligible manufacturers with conditions and credit restrictions. Notification No. 08/1998-CE grants a two-tier, value-based excise duty exemption for specified goods cleared for home consumption during the financial year: an initial aggregate tranche is exempt and a subsequent tranche is subject to a concessional ad valorem duty. Eligibility is subject to election rules, input credit restrictions, prior-year aggregate clearance limits, and aggregation across factories or manufacturers; certain clearances and branded goods are excluded and detailed definitions and an annexure set out excluded commodities and operational rules.