Substantial compliance with SSI declaration requirement protects exemption where eligibility is undisputed and postal non-receipt is not fatal.

SSI exemption under Notification No. 9/2002-CE could not be denied solely because the declaration sent under certificate of posting was not received by the department, where the assessee's eligibility for exemption was otherwise undisputed. The requirement to file the declaration was treated as substantially complied with because a copy of the declaration was produced and dispatch was shown. Mere non-receipt in the departmental office was held insufficient to defeat the exemption, and denial of SSI benefit was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether SSI exemption under Notification No. 9/2002-CE could be denied merely because the declaration was dispatched under certificate of posting but not received by the department, when the assessee's eligibility for exemption was otherwise undisputed.

Analysis: The assessee's entitlement to SSI exemption apart from the declaration was not in dispute, and the declaration was shown to have been sent under certificate of posting. In these circumstances, the requirement of filing the declaration stood substantially complied with. A mere non-receipt of the declaration in the departmental office could not defeat the exemption when the underlying eligibility was admitted and a copy of the declaration had been produced.

Conclusion: The denial of SSI exemption was unsustainable, and the exemption could not be refused on the ground of non-receipt of the declaration.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an assessee is otherwise eligible for SSI exemption, substantial compliance with the declaration requirement is sufficient and the benefit cannot be denied solely because the declaration sent by post was not actually received by the department.

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