Exemption notification compliance: claimant must prove fulfilment of positive conditions, with only limited interim relief granted.

A claimant seeking exemption under a notification with positive conditions must prima facie establish fulfilment of those conditions, and the burden does not shift to the department to disprove compliance. Mere reference to the notification in a classification list does not, by itself, defeat the continuing obligation to show entitlement, so the limitation plea also failed at the interim stage. Financial hardship was treated as a relevant factor, and only partial pre-deposit relief was granted.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to waiver of pre-deposit of the balance duty and penalty in a stay application, and whether it had made out a prima facie case on exemption and limitation.

Analysis: The appellant sought the benefit of Notification No. 4/97-C.E. for dyed yarn clearances, but no material was produced before the adjudicating authority or the appellate authority to show that the raw material had suffered duty. The condition in the notification was a positive one, and the burden lay on the applicant to establish satisfaction of that condition. The plea that the department had to prove non-duty-paid character of the inputs was not accepted. The contention of limitation was also not accepted at the prima facie stage, since mere mention of the notification in the classification list did not displace the continuing obligation to show compliance with the notification conditions. Financial difficulty was noted as a relevant circumstance for interim relief.

Conclusion: The appellant was not held to have made out a strong prima facie case on merits or limitation, but partial relief from pre-deposit was granted on the facts.

Final Conclusion: The stay application was disposed of by directing a partial deposit and granting waiver for the remaining pre-deposit and penalty.

Ratio Decidendi: A claimant to exemption under a notification bearing positive conditions must establish fulfilment of those conditions, and in the absence of such prima facie showing, only limited interim relief may be granted in a stay application.

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