Customs exemption claim at appellate stage upheld where substantive entitlement existed despite late invocation.

A customs exemption otherwise available in law cannot be denied merely because it was not claimed at assessment or clearance, or was invoked only at the appellate stage. The Tribunal applied the principle that a substantive benefit is not lost on a technical objection where the assessee had claimed it under the wrong provision or later sought the correct relief. On that basis, the notification benefit was held available and the Revenue's challenge was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the benefit of Customs Notification No. 20/2006 could be granted at the appellate stage even though it had not been claimed at the time of assessment or clearance of the imported goods.

Analysis: The dispute turned on whether a customs exemption available on merits could be denied merely because the assessee had not invoked it initially. The Tribunal applied the principle that a benefit otherwise available in law cannot be refused on the technical ground that it was claimed under the wrong provision or claimed only at a later stage. It relied on the earlier appellate order following the Supreme Court's view that an assessee is not barred from seeking the correct benefit subsequently, and that a late claim is comparable to a claim made under an incorrect provision when the substantive entitlement exists.

Conclusion: The benefit of the notification was held to be available to the assessee, and the Revenue's challenge was rejected.

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