Exemption under customs notification requires full compliance at import; later refund claim cannot cure omitted conditions.

An importer cannot obtain exemption under Notification No. 20/93-Cus. through a later refund claim if the exemption was not claimed at the time of importation. The notification required compliance with all specified conditions, including an undertaking at the time of import, and those conditions could not be cured after clearance of the goods. Payment of duty on merits does not by itself preserve eligibility for exemption when the importer failed to satisfy the notification's pre-import requirements. The refund claim was therefore not maintainable on this basis.

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Issues: Whether the importer could claim the benefit of Notification No. 20/93-Cus. dated 28-2-1993 through a refund application after clearance of the goods on payment of duty on merits, when the exemption was not claimed at the time of importation.

Analysis: The notification granted exemption subject to specified conditions, including an undertaking by the importer at the time of importation. The benefit was not claimed when the goods were cleared, and the refund claim was made later before the Assistant Commissioner (Refunds). The conditions attached to the exemption could not be satisfied after clearance, and fulfillment of only the post-import condition did not dispense with the requirement of complying with all conditions of the notification. An importer seeking exemption must satisfy every condition stipulated in the notification.

Conclusion: The importer was not entitled to claim the exemption benefit through the refund proceedings, and the rejection of the refund claim was ?

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