Exemption certificate compliance under Notification 108/95-C.E. supported refund claim; rejection was set aside.

Refund under Notification No. 108/95-C.E. could not be rejected for alleged non-compliance with the exemption certificate conditions where the record showed an exemption/project authority certificate issued for an approved project, relating to goods supplied to an Asian Development Bank-financed project approved by the Government of India, and countersigned by the competent authority. The certificate also certified that the goods were required for the approved project. On that basis, the tribunal found that the prescribed conditions were satisfied and that the rejection was based on an incomplete appreciation of the documents furnished. The assessee succeeded and the appeal was allowed.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim under Notification No. 108/95-C.E. was correctly rejected on the ground that the exemption certificate did not satisfy the prescribed conditions.

Analysis: The documents filed with the refund application included an exemption certificate / project authority certificate issued in relation to the approved project. On scrutiny, the certificate reflected that the goods were supplied to a project financed by the Asian Development Bank, that the project was approved by the Government of India, that the certificate was issued by the executive head of the project implementing authority, that it was countersigned by the competent authority, and that the goods were certified as required for the approved project. The record therefore showed compliance with the conditions prescribed in the notification, and the rejection proceeded without due appreciation of the certificate already furnished.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not liable to rejection on the alleged deficiency in the exemption certificate; the assessee succeeded and the appeal was allowed.

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