Exemption notification compliance: classification lists showing intention to claim benefit were treated as sufficient pending final decision.

An exemption claim under Notification No. 9/99 was accepted where the assessees had not separately and expressly exercised the prescribed option, but their classification lists filed with the Superintendent disclosed the intention to avail the exemption. The Tribunal treated those filings as sufficient intimation for the interim stage, noting conflicting Tribunal views on whether formal exercise of option was mandatory and observing that the relevant notification conditions were materially identical to those in a comparable notification. On that basis, the demand and penalties were stayed.

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Issues: Whether the appellants were entitled to the exemption under Notification No. 9/99 despite not having separately and expressly exercised the option in the manner prescribed, when the classification lists filed before the Superintendent disclosed their intention to avail the exemption.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that the classification lists furnished by the assessees contained the relevant particulars and conveyed their intention to claim the exemption. It also noticed that there were conflicting Tribunal decisions on the same question, including decisions treating such intimation as sufficient and another taking a stricter view, and that the conditions in the two notifications compared were identical in material respects.

Conclusion: The appellants were entitled to the benefit of the exemption at the interim stage, and the demand and penalties were stayed.

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