Exemption for World Bank-funded project clearances upheld where certificates were in place and suppression was not established.

Notification No. 108/95-C.E. applies to clearances of bitumen for World Bank-funded projects where the prescribed certificates are obtained before removal and the jurisdictional officer is duly informed. On the facts described, the terminal acted only as a marketing and invoicing point, with no physical movement of goods from the refinery to the terminal, and the record did not show that the bitumen failed to reach the intended projects. The allegation of suppression therefore lacked support, so invocation of the extended period was not justified. The assessee was treated as entitled to the exemption, and denial of the benefit was not sustainable.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to the benefit of Notification No. 108/95-C.E. for clearances of bitumen for World Bank-funded projects, and whether denial of the exemption and invocation of the extended period on the allegation of suppression of facts were justified.

Analysis: The exemption was denied on the premise that the goods were first moved from the refinery to a terminal and then cleared to buyers, and that the prescribed certificates were not properly countersigned. On the material on record, there was no physical movement of bitumen from the refinery to the terminal, which functioned only for marketing and invoice issuance. The clearances were supported by the required certificates before removal, and the jurisdictional range officer had been intimated prior to clearance. The record did not support the allegation that the goods failed to reach the intended World Bank-funded projects. In these circumstances, the allegation of suppression was also unsustainable, and there was no basis for invoking the extended period.

Conclusion: The appellant was entitled to the exemption under Notification No. 108/95-C.E., and the denial of the benefit as well as the extended-period demand was not justified.

Final Conclusion: The assessee succeeded in appeal, and the revenue appeal failed in consequence.

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