Clarificatory exemption amendment operates retrospectively, extending relief to clearances made to a Free Trade Zone and 100% EOU.

An amendment to Notification No. 217/86-C.E. was treated as clarificatory and therefore retrospective, so the exemption continued to apply to goods cleared to a Free Trade Zone or a 100% Export Oriented Unit. The Tribunal held that where the amended wording merely explains the original scope of the notification, the benefit cannot be denied on the basis of the subsequent insertion. It also accepted that goods cleared without duty under an exemption notification could be regarded as duty-paid goods for the relevant purpose, resulting in the exemption being admissible for the disputed clearances.

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Issues: Whether the amendment to Notification No. 217/86-C.E. by Notification No. 33/92-C.E. was clarificatory and retrospective, so as to extend the exemption benefit to goods cleared to a Free Trade Zone or to a 100% Export Oriented Unit.

Analysis: The Tribunal treated the controversy as covered by its earlier decision and accepted that the words inserted by the amending notification were clarificatory in nature. A clarificatory notification was held to operate retrospectively. On that basis, the exemption under Notification No. 217/86-C.E. could not be denied merely because the final products were cleared to a Free Trade Zone or to a 100% Export Oriented Unit. The Tribunal also accepted that goods cleared without duty under an exemption notification could be regarded as duty-paid goods for the relevant purpose.

Conclusion: The issue was decided in favour of the assessee, and the exemption benefit was held admissible for the disputed clearances.

Ratio Decidendi: A clarificatory amendment to an exemption notification operates retrospectively, and exemption benefit cannot be denied for clearances to a Free Trade Zone or a 100% Export Oriented Unit when the amended language merely explains the original scope of the notification.

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