Exemption notification option clause allowed pending dealers to choose the earlier scheme within time, making rejection unsustainable.

The amended clause (xii) of the exemption notification gave dealers a statutory choice to opt between the 23 October 1981 notification and the amended 3 March 1989 notification, with the option becoming final once exercised. The proviso also allowed dealers who had already availed the earlier notification to shift to the amended scheme if they acted within ninety days. As the petitioner's exemption application was pending when the amendment came into force, the petitioner was entitled to exercise that option within time. The authorities' view that the petitioner could not claim the benefit of the earlier notification was therefore unsustainable, and the rejection of exemption was unjustified.

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Issues: Whether the amended clause (xii) of the exemption notification entitled a dealer whose application was pending to exercise the option between the earlier notification dated 23 October 1981 and the amended notification dated 3 March 1989, and whether the rejection of the petitioner's request for exemption was justified.

Analysis: The amended clause (xii) conferred on dealers a choice to avail exemption either under the 1981 notification or under the amended notification, and made the option once exercised final. The proviso preserved a further opportunity for dealers who had already availed the earlier notification before commencement of the amendment, permitting them to switch to the amended notification if they opted within ninety days. The amendment was intended to benefit dealers and had to be construed to advance that object. Since the petitioner's application was pending when the amendment came into force, the petitioner was entitled to exercise the option within the prescribed period, and the authorities erred in holding that the petitioner could not claim the benefit of the 1981 notification.

Conclusion: The petitioner was entitled to avail the exemption scheme under the earlier notification by exercising the statutory option within time, and the rejection of the request was unsustainable.

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