Duty exemption certificate produced later can still sustain concessional import benefit under the notification.

Non-possession of a duty exemption certificate at the time of import did not, by itself, defeat a claim to concessional treatment under Notification No. 17/2001. The certificate was later obtained from the competent authority, and its genuineness and issuing authority were not disputed. In these circumstances, the Tribunal treated the subsequent production of the prescribed certificate as sufficient and held that the exemption benefit could not be denied solely for its absence at import.

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Issues: Whether non-possession of the duty exemption certificate at the time of import was fatal to the assessee's claim to the benefit of Notification No. 17/2001 dated 10.3.2001.

Analysis: The benefit of the notification was sought to be denied on the ground that the assessee did not hold the prescribed certificate from the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources at the time of import. The certificate was, however, subsequently obtained from the competent authority, and there was no dispute as to the genuineness of the certificate or the authority issuing it. In these circumstances, the Tribunal held that absence of the certificate at the time of import did not by itself defeat the claim to the concessional rate under the notification.

Conclusion: The non-possession of the certificate at the time of import was not fatal, and the assessee was entitled to the benefit of the notification.

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