Strict compliance with customs exemption conditions required; non-fulfilment of registration and record requirements defeated the benefit.

Customs exemption notifications are available only on strict compliance with all mandatory conditions attached to the notification and the governing concessional import scheme. The record showed that the required registration, verification and maintenance of records were not fulfilled at the relevant time, and registration was obtained only after the export activity had already occurred, leaving the claimed compliance unestablished. On that basis, the benefit of exemption was denied and the demand and penalty were sustained.

---

---

Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to the benefit of the customs exemption notifications despite non-fulfilment of the prescribed conditions, including the requirements governing registration, verification, and maintenance of records.

Analysis: The exemption was available only on compliance with the conditions attached to the notification and the applicable concessional import scheme. The appellant obtained registration after the export activity had already occurred, so the genuineness of the claimed compliance was not established at the relevant time. The record showed non-fulfilment of the mandatory requirements under the notification and the rules governing concessional import of goods for manufacture of excisable goods. The Tribunal relied on the principle that exemption notifications must be strictly construed and their conditions cannot be ignored when claiming the benefit.

Conclusion: The appellant was not entitled to the benefit of the notification, and the demand and penalty were sustained.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the conditions for claiming customs exemption were not shown to have been fulfilled.

Ratio Decidendi: A person claiming exemption under a customs notification must strictly comply with all mandatory conditions attached to the notification and the governing scheme.

---