SEZ supply exemption cannot be denied merely because the supplier lacked registration at the time of sale.

Exemption on supplies to an industrial unit in a Special Economic Zone cannot be refused solely because the supplier was not registered at the time of sale, where section 6(7) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act and rule 12C do not expressly impose that condition. The Court noted that the declaration form focuses on the purchaser's particulars and TIN, and that the exemption benefit is intended for the SEZ industrial unit. The supplier's delayed registration was therefore not a valid technical ground for denial, although the assessing officer must still examine on remand whether the goods supplied fall within section 6(7).

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Issues: Whether exemption on sales made to an industrial unit in a Special Economic Zone could be denied merely because the supplier was not a registered dealer at the time of supply.

Analysis: The exemption claim arose from supplies made to an industrial unit in the Special Economic Zone under section 6(7) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, with the declaration form prescribed under rule 12C requiring the purchaser's details and TIN. The Court found no indication in section 6(7) or rule 12C that the supplier must be a registered dealer at the time of making the supply. Since the benefit of the exemption goes to the purchasing industrial unit, the supplier's delayed registration did not justify denial of exemption on that technical ground. The larger question whether the goods supplied fell within the scope of section 6(7) was left to the assessing officer on remand.

Conclusion: Exemption cannot be denied merely because the supplier was not registered at the time of sale, and the issue must be examined on merits by the assessing officer.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the governing provision and the prescribed declaration form do not expressly require the supplier to be registered at the time of supply, exemption meant for supplies to a Special Economic Zone unit cannot be refused solely on the technical ground of absence of contemporaneous registration.

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