Choice of more beneficial exemption notification upheld; refund claim required fresh reconsideration on eligibility.

Imported goods used by a research institute were stated to satisfy the conditions for full exemption, and no finding showed that Notification No. 70/81 was inapplicable to goods re-imported after repair or re-conditioning. Where more than one exemption notification is available on the facts, the assessee may choose the more beneficial notification, and that benefit cannot be denied without material proving ineligibility. On the material before the Tribunal, the benefit of Notification No. 70/81 could not be denied, and the refund claim required fresh consideration by the jurisdictional authority.

---

---

Issues: Whether the benefit of Notification No. 70/81 could be denied, and whether the refund claim required fresh consideration on the assessee's claim of eligibility under the exemption notification.

Analysis: The imported goods had been brought in under full exemption for use by a research institute, and the stipulated conditions were stated to have been satisfied. No finding had been recorded that Notification No. 70/81 was inapplicable to goods re-imported after repair or re-conditioning. Where more than one exemption notification is available on the facts, the assessee is entitled to choose the more beneficial one, and the benefit of the chosen notification cannot be denied in the absence of material showing ineligibility.

Conclusion: The benefit of Notification No. 70/81 could not be denied on the material before the Tribunal, and the refund claim had to be reconsidered afresh by the jurisdictional authority.

---