Project certification under exemption notification protects scientific equipment clearance from restrictive classification objections.

Goods certified for use in a relevant scientific project were held eligible for exemption under Notification No. 64/95, and the demand failed. The Tribunal applied an earlier coordinate decision on the same notification, which had already covered apparatus, equipment, accessories and spare parts used with scientific and technical instruments, and found no reason to depart from that view. The department's objection that the semi-trailer was a sub-system and that certification was defective was rejected because the competent authority's certificate supported coverage under the notification.

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Issues: Whether the semi-trailer cleared to LPSC was eligible for exemption under Notification No. 64/95 dated 16.03.1995, notwithstanding the department's objections regarding its character as a sub-system and the manner of certification.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that an earlier decision on an identical issue had already held that apparatus, equipment, accessories and spare parts used along with scientific and technical instruments fall within the scope of the notification where the competent authority has certified the item for the relevant project. It found no new reason to depart from that view and treated the present case as covered by the same reasoning. The department's objections were not accepted in the face of the certificate and the earlier favourable ruling.

Conclusion: The exemption was held admissible and the demand did not survive.

Ratio Decidendi: Where goods are certified for use in the relevant scientific project and the issue is covered by an earlier coordinate decision on the same notification, the exemption cannot be denied merely on a restrictive reading of the item's description.

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