Small grower exemption for tea duty turns on proof of landholding status and may be reconsidered on remand.

Exemption from additional excise duty on tea purchased from small growers depended on proof that the seller was a small grower holding less than 10 hectares. The existing record did not contain the land documents needed to establish that status, so the exemption claim could not be accepted on merits. However, the matter was remanded to the assessing authority to allow the petitioner an opportunity to produce the necessary land records and have the claim reconsidered.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to exemption from additional excise duty on tea purchased from small growers without producing land records, and whether the matter should be remanded for fresh consideration.

Analysis: The exemption under the relevant notification was available only when the seller was shown to be a small grower holding less than 10 hectares. The Court found that the basic proof of the seller's status had not been produced before the assessing authority, and therefore the claim to exemption could not be accepted on the existing record. At the same time, in the interests of justice, the petitioner was to be given an opportunity to produce the land documents to substantiate the claim.

Conclusion: The challenge to the insistence on land documents failed on the merits, but the matter was remanded to the assessing authority for fresh consideration after giving the petitioner an opportunity to produce the necessary documents.

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