End-use certificate requirement under customs exemption held mandatory, with remand for fresh adjudication and hearing.

The exemption under Notification No. 132/94-Cus made production of the prescribed end-use certificate a mandatory condition, not an optional procedural requirement, because the certificate had to confirm that the goods were required for petroleum operations under the relevant contract. The appellate direction to verify the certificate was therefore proper. As the original adjudication was incomplete and the appellate findings had to be considered, the matter was remanded for de novo adjudication by the original authority, with a personal hearing to the importer.

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Issues: Whether the importer was obliged to produce the end-use certificate required by Notification No. 132/94-Cus dated 20.06.1994 and whether the matter required remand for fresh adjudication.

Analysis: The notification expressly required a certificate from the prescribed authority certifying that the goods were required for petroleum operations and had been imported under the relevant contract. On that construction, production of the certificate was not optional but a condition attached to the exemption. The appellate authority's direction to verify the certificate therefore did not suffer from infirmity. In view of the incomplete adjudication and the need to take the appellate findings into account, the dispute was fit for de novo consideration by the original authority, with opportunity of personal hearing to the importer.

Conclusion: The importer was bound to produce the end-use certificate, and the matter was remanded to the original adjudicating authority for fresh adjudication.

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