GTA exemption under Notification No. 32/2004-ST cannot be denied on technical defects where declarations prove non-availment of credit.

Recipient of goods transport agency services was entitled to exemption under Notification No. 32/2004-ST where the declarations showed that the transport contractors had not availed CENVAT credit or the benefit of Notification No. 12/2003-ST, and that the declarations covered the disputed period and the relevant depots and locations. In those circumstances, denial of the exemption on a technical objection about the form or location of the declarations was held to be incorrect. The impugned orders were set aside, and the appellant was held entitled to the notification benefit.

---

---

Issues: Whether the recipient of goods transport agency services was entitled to exemption under Notification No. 32/2004-ST without further compliance with the disputed declaration requirements.

Analysis: The declarations produced before the Tribunal showed that the transport contractors had not availed CENVAT credit or the benefit of Notification No. 12/2003-ST and that the declarations covered the period in dispute. The declarations were also found to relate to the relevant depots and locations of the appellant. In these circumstances, the denial of the benefit of Notification No. 32/2004-ST was held to be incorrect. The conclusion was supported by earlier judicial precedent on the same issue.

Conclusion: The appellant was held entitled to the benefit of Notification No. 32/2004-ST, and the impugned orders were set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the requisite declarations establish non-availment of CENVAT credit or the linked exemption and cover the disputed period, exemption under the notification cannot be denied on a technical objection as to form or location of the declarations.

---