SSI exemption cannot be denied for failure to file option letter when substantive eligibility is otherwise established.

SSI exemption under Notification No. 9/2003-CE could not be denied solely because the assessee failed to file the written option or declaration, where substantive eligibility was otherwise undisputed and the necessary particulars were already available with the department. The omission was treated as a procedural lapse, not a ground to defeat a substantial exemption when the underlying conditions for entitlement were satisfied. A Revenue precedent was distinguished because it arose under a different notification and statutory setting. The assessee was therefore entitled to the SSI exemption despite non-filing of the option letter.

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Issues: Whether SSI exemption under Notification No. 9/2003-CE could be denied merely because the assessee did not file the written option/declaration prescribed by the notification.

Analysis: The exemption was otherwise undisputedly available to the assessee, and the required particulars for exercising the option were already with the department. The omission was confined to non-filing of the declaration in writing, while the substantive eligibility conditions for the exemption were not in dispute. The earlier decision relied upon by the Revenue was distinguished because it concerned a different notification and a different statutory setting. The Tribunal treated the omission as a procedural lapse and applied the principle that a substantial exemption cannot be refused for such non-compliance where the substantive entitlement is established.

Conclusion: The exemption could not be denied merely for failure to file the option letter, and the assessee was entitled to SSI exemption under Notification No. 9/2003-CE.

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