Customs exemption certification cannot be refused solely for lack of Central Excise registration; verification must still be made.

A customs exemption condition requiring account extracts certified by the jurisdictional Central Excise officer had to be applied to all importers covered by the notification, regardless of Central Excise registration status. Refusal to certify solely because the importer was not a Central Excise assessee was improper, since the certification requirement was a condition precedent to claiming the benefit. Where the importer stated that the relevant accounts were maintained and could be produced, the matter had to be examined by the appropriate officer. The denial of exemption was therefore set aside and the matter remanded for verification, certification, and fresh decision by the adjudicating authority.

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Issues: Whether denial of customs exemption was justified merely because the importer was not registered with Central Excise authorities and could not obtain certification of accounts required by the amended notification.

Analysis: The exemption under Notification No. 45/94-Cus., as amended by Notification No. 115/94-Cus., required production of account extracts duly certified by the jurisdictional Central Excise officer. The refusal to certify on the sole ground that the importer was not a Central Excise assessee was held to be improper, because the condition attached to the customs exemption had to be complied with by all importers covered by the notification, irrespective of their registration status under Central Excise law. Since the appellant stated that the accounts had been maintained and could be produced for verification, the matter required examination by the appropriate Central Excise officer.

Conclusion: The denial of benefit was set aside and the matter was remanded for verification and certification of the accounts, after which the adjudicating authority was to decide the matter afresh.

Final Conclusion: The order confirmed the denial of exemption could not stand without the required verification of accounts, and the dispute was sent back for fresh adjudication after certification.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an exemption notification makes certification by a designated authority a condition precedent, that authority cannot refuse certification solely because the applicant is not otherwise registered under the relevant fiscal law.

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