Supplier certificate for rosin exemption upheld; denial failed because evidence did not show manufacture with aid of power.

Exemption under Notification No. 8/96-C.E. could not be denied merely because the department doubted a supplier's certificate stating that imported rosin was manufactured without aid of power. The Tribunal found that the adjudicating authority's reliance on manufacturing inference and technical literature did not establish that power was used in extracting the rosin, and that earlier precedent had accepted similar supplier certificates for the exemption. On that basis, the certificate could not be discarded on the facts, and the denial of exemption was held unsustainable, entitling the assessee to the notification benefit.

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Issues: Whether exemption under Notification No. 8/96-C.E. could be denied on the ground that imported rosin was not shown to have been manufactured without aid of power, despite a supplier's certificate to that effect.

Analysis: The imported rosin was accompanied by a supplier's certificate stating that it was manufactured without aid of power. The adjudicating authority rejected the certificate on the basis of an inference drawn from the manufacturing process and technical literature. The Tribunal found that the cited material did not establish use of power for extraction of rosin and noted that in an earlier decision supplier's certificates of the same kind had been accepted for extending the exemption. Following the earlier binding view, the Tribunal held that the certificate could not be discarded on the facts of the case.

Conclusion: The denial of exemption was not sustainable and the assessee was entitled to the benefit of the notification.

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