Consistent interpretation of exemption conditions protects importer's countervailing duty relief where Cenvat credit was never available.

An identically worded exemption condition was construed consistently with the Supreme Court's interpretation of Notification No. 6/2002-CE: a manufacturer-based requirement that Cenvat credit not be availed could not be used to deny exemption where credit was not available to the importer in the first place. Applying that principle to Notification No. 30/2004-CE, the denial of countervailing duty exemption on the ground of non-availment of Cenvat credit was unsustainable. The importer was therefore entitled to the exemption, and the earlier denial was set aside.

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Issues: Whether the importer was entitled to exemption from countervailing duty under Notification No. 30/2004-CE dated 09/07/2004 despite the condition regarding non-availment of Cenvat credit by the manufacturer.

Analysis: The exemption notification in dispute contained a condition identical to the one considered by the Supreme Court in the earlier decision concerning Notification No. 6/2002-CE dated 01/03/2002. The governing principle applied was that where the Supreme Court has interpreted an identically worded condition and held that the non-availment requirement cannot be used to deny the benefit to an importer when Cenvat credit was not available to it in the first place, the same construction must govern the later notification. The earlier denial of exemption on the ground that the importer could not satisfy the manufacturer-specific condition was therefore not sustainable.

Conclusion: The importer was held entitled to exemption from payment of countervailing duty under Notification No. 30/2004-CE, and the denial of benefit was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: An identically worded exemption condition must be applied consistently with the Supreme Court's interpretation, and a manufacturer-based non-availment of Cenvat credit condition cannot defeat an importer's claim where credit was not admissible to the importer.

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