Deemed export does not entitle a non-exporting supplier to excise rebate; rebate follows actual export.

Rebate of central excise duty is available to the person who actually exports the goods, and deemed export is not treated as export for every purpose under the excise and customs regime. A supplier who delivered goods to an Advance Licence Holder against Advance Release Orders, without physically exporting the goods, could not claim rebate or refund merely because the buyer may later export finished goods. At most, the supplier could pursue terminal benefits under DGFT deeming provisions, while the rebate linked to export remained with the exporter of the finished goods. The claim was therefore correctly rejected.

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Issues: Whether the supplier of goods to an Advance Licence Holder against Advance Release Orders, without physically exporting the goods, was entitled to rebate or refund of central excise duty on the basis that the supplies constituted deemed exports.

Analysis: Rule 12 empowers the Central Government to grant export benefits, but the benefit of rebate is available to the person who actually exports the goods. Deemed export is not equivalent to export for every purpose under the excise and customs regime. The supplier, who did not directly export the disposable gas cylinders, could not claim rebate of duty on the ground that the buyer may export the finished goods later. At best, the supplier could seek terminal benefit from the DGFT for deemed export, while the rebate on the goods and inputs attached to export belongs to the exporter of the finished goods.

Conclusion: The supplier was not entitled to rebate or refund under the claimed deemed export arrangement, and the rejection of the claim was correct.

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