Cough,
thanks, re-reading my earlier post, it's not worded very well.
What I was getting at is if you get airborne on an XYZ SID, and are given a "climb now to FL***, (a level above the final SID altitude), whilst following the SID track, you must cross all of the level restrictions at, or above, the levels specified in order to stay terrain safe and inside CAS. That is how I have always understood it.
Many years ago, one of our locally based operators, having been given a climb to FL170, would fly one of our SIDs right on the lowest limits to save fuel and preserve engine-life. On more than one occasion, they experienced GPWS warnings due to the escarpment rising below them. FC, thanks for the reference too.