Rebate on duty-paid exports upheld where concessional exemption was used and no input credit was taken.

Rebate of duty actually paid on exported goods was held admissible where the goods were cleared at concessional duty under Notification No. 29/2004-C.E. and Rule 18, even though full exemption under Notification No. 30/2004-C.E. was available and no input Cenvat credit had been taken. The two notifications were treated as operating in different fields: the concessional notification was a beneficial option, not displaced by the mere non-availment of credit. Separate records and declared clearances under both notifications supported the position that the exports were made on duty payment under Notification No. 29/2004-C.E. The earlier Nahar revision order was distinguishable on facts.

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Issues: Whether rebate of duty paid on export goods was admissible under Notification No. 29/2004-C.E. and Rule 18 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, notwithstanding the availability of full exemption under Notification No. 30/2004-C.E. and the fact that no input Cenvat credit had been taken on the export goods.

Analysis: The relevant notifications operated in different fields. Notification No. 29/2004-C.E. granted partial exemption at concessional duty rates, while Notification No. 30/2004-C.E. granted full exemption subject to non-availment of input Cenvat credit. The record showed that the applicants had opted for and declared clearance under both notifications simultaneously for different clearances, maintained separate records, and cleared the exported goods on payment of duty at the concessional rate under Notification No. 29/2004-C.E. The non-availment of input credit on exported goods did not compel the applicants to be treated as if they had cleared the goods under Notification No. 30/2004-C.E., because availment of Cenvat credit is a beneficial option and not a compulsory condition for availing Notification No. 29/2004-C.E. The earlier revision order in the Nahar matter was distinguishable on facts and did not decide the present question of rebate on duty actually paid under Notification No. 29/2004-C.E.

Conclusion: Rebate of the duty actually paid on the exported goods was admissible, and the rejection of rebate was unsustainable.

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