Exemption notification claims can be raised at appellate stage; rejection as belated was set aside and remanded.

Exemption notification benefit was treated as a question of law capable of being raised at the appellate stage, so the appellate authority should have considered the claim rather than rejecting it as not raised earlier. The view that the notifications were not in force on the relevant date was not treated as conclusive and required proper reconsideration before refusal of relief. The appellate order was set aside and the matter remanded to the original adjudicating authority for fresh examination of the exemption claim.

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Issues: Whether the assessee's claim for benefit of exemption notifications could be entertained at the appellate stage and whether the matter should be remanded for reconsideration of that claim.

Analysis: The original assessment was carried in appeal and, after remand by the Commissioner (Appeals), the fresh order was passed in de novo proceedings. The claim for exemption notification benefit was treated as a question of law, capable of being raised at any stage. The appellate authority ought to have considered the claim instead of refusing it on the ground that it had not been raised earlier. The finding that the notifications were not in force on the relevant date was also not accepted as conclusive for rejecting the claim without proper reconsideration.

Conclusion: The claim for notification benefit was held maintainable for reconsideration, and the impugned appellate order was set aside with remand to the original adjudicating authority.

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