DEPB credit for Acetic Acid Glacial cannot be denied when purity norms are unstated and lab reports conflict.

DEPB credit for export of Acetic Acid Glacial could not be denied where the schedule described the product without prescribing any purity norm. Even if 99.8% purity were assumed to be relevant, the Customs House Laboratory reports were inconsistent and showed widely different results on two occasions. The consignee's certificate stating that the goods tested at 99.8% purity was not shown to be false or fabricated, so the Department's adverse inference was unjustified. On that basis, the denial of DEPB credit was held unsustainable and the assessee's claim was accepted.

---

---

Issues: Whether the appellants were entitled to DEPB credit for export of Acetic Acid Glacial despite variation in laboratory test results and the Department's reliance on an assumed purity requirement.

Analysis: The DEPB schedule described the product only as "Acetic Acid Glacial" and did not specify any purity norm. Even assuming a technical requirement of 99.8% purity, the Customs House Laboratory reports were inconsistent, showing widely different results on two occasions. The Consignee's Certificate stated that the goods tested at 99.8% purity, and there was no finding that this certificate was false or fabricated. In these circumstances, the adverse inference drawn by the Department was not justified, and the documentary evidence furnished by the consignee had to be accepted.

Conclusion: The denial of DEPB credit was unsustainable and the appeal was allowed in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the export description does not prescribe a specific purity norm and the Department's own test reports are inconsistent, credible contemporaneous evidence such as a consignee's certificate cannot be disregarded absent proof of falsity.

---