Exemption choice under competing tariff entries: assessee may adopt the entry giving greater relief when conditions are satisfied.

Goods supplied as a subcontractor for an international competitive bidding mega power project qualified for nil duty under Sl. No. 336 of Notification No. 12/2012-C.E. because the stipulated conditions, including the required certification, were satisfied. The Revenue could not ? must avoid non-English. The Revenue could not deny that exemption merely by preferring the more specific Sl. No. 338, since both entries were available on the facts. Where multiple exemption entries can apply, the assessee may choose the entry granting greater relief, and the exemption cannot be refused once the claimed entry is fully met.

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Issues: Whether the assessee, having supplied goods against an international competitive bidding contract for a mega power project, was entitled to exemption under Sl. No. 336 of Notification No. 12/2012-C.E. despite the Revenue's insistence that the more specific entry at Sl. No. 338 should be applied.

Analysis: Sl. No. 336 grants nil rate of duty to goods supplied against international competitive bidding, subject to the stipulated conditions. The admitted facts showed that the goods were supplied as a sub-contractor pursuant to international competitive bidding and the required certification was available. Once the conditions of the entry were satisfied, the exemption could not be denied merely because another entry was also available for mega power projects. Where two exemption entries may apply, the assessee is entitled to choose the entry that affords greater relief, and the Revenue cannot compel adoption of a different entry if the claimed exemption is otherwise available.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to claim exemption under Sl. No. 336, and the denial of that benefit was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: When an assessee satisfies the conditions of an exemption entry, the Revenue cannot deny that benefit by insisting on a different available entry; the assessee may opt for the exemption that grants greater relief.

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