Area-based exemption cannot be denied for a clerical mistake in the notification number where substantive eligibility is otherwise proved.

Area-based exemption under Notification No. 50/2003-C.E. could not be denied merely because the declaration mistakenly cited Notification No. 49/2003-C.E. instead. The supporting documents, including the lease deed, disclosed the unit's location and khasra particulars, and the jurisdictional officer's field verification confirmed eligibility under the correct exemption notification. The clerical error in describing the notification was held not to affect substantive entitlement where the foundational conditions were otherwise satisfied and the required information had been furnished. On that basis, denial of the exemption was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the assessee could be denied the benefit of area-based exemption under Notification No. 50/2003-C.E. merely because the declaration mistakenly mentioned Notification No. 49/2003-C.E. instead of Notification No. 50/2003-C.E.

Analysis: The declaration filed by the assessee was accompanied by supporting documents, including the lease deed, which disclosed the location and khasra particulars of the unit. The field verification report of the jurisdictional officer also confirmed that the unit was eligible for the exemption under Notification No. 50/2003-C.E. The error in mentioning the notification number was only clerical and did not affect the substantive eligibility for exemption. The decision relied on the distinction between failure to comply with a foundational condition and an inadvertent mistake in describing the notification claimed.

Conclusion: The assessee could not be denied exemption under Notification No. 50/2003-C.E. on account of the inadvertent clerical error in the declaration, and the disallowance of exemption was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the substantive conditions for exemption are satisfied and the required supporting information is otherwise furnished, a mere clerical mistake in the notification number mentioned in the declaration does not justify denial of the exemption.

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