Conscious election of exemption notification bars later refund claim based on a different classification or benefit.

A deliberate and informed election of classification or exemption notification binds the assessee, and the position cannot be reopened later merely because another benefit is discovered. Where the taxpayer knowingly paid duty under one chosen notification and only afterward attempted to switch to an alternative basis for refund, the claim failed because the omission was not inadvertent but a conscious choice. The earlier classification approval was relevant only as support for the principle that a selected fiscal position, once adopted, cannot be altered inconsistently at a later stage. Refund was therefore not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether an assessee who consciously chose a classification and paid duty under one exemption notification could later seek refund by switching to another notification or classification.

Analysis: The assessee had knowledge of the available notifications and had deliberately selected one course, paid duty accordingly, and only later attempted to alter the basis for claiming a refund. The decision distinguishes cases where omission to claim a benefit occurred by inadvertence. It holds that a deliberate and informed choice of classification or notification cannot be reopened merely because a different and more beneficial treatment is subsequently discovered. The earlier practice of classification approval was noted only to support the principle that a chosen position, once consciously adopted, binds the party in the absence of a timely correction.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not maintainable, and the assessee was not entitled to shift from the classification and notification earlier selected.

Final Conclusion: The demand for refund failed because a consciously adopted classification and exemption route could not later be altered to secure a different fiscal benefit.

Ratio Decidendi: A party that knowingly and deliberately elects one classification or exemption notification cannot subsequently seek refund on the basis of an alternative option inconsistent with that conscious election.

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