SSI exemption dispute turns on pending prior exemption eligibility; later turnover-based denial was premature and remanded.

SSI exemption under Notification No. 01/93-CE could not be conclusively denied where the turnover basis depended on the unresolved availability of an earlier exemption under Notification No. 202/1988-CE. Because the notice disputing eligibility under the earlier notification was still pending, the aggregate clearances for the preceding financial year had not attained finality. The later exemption dispute was therefore premature, and the matter had to be remanded for fresh decision after determination of the foundational exemption issue.

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Issues: Whether the denial of SSI exemption under Notification No. 01/93-CE could be sustained when the appellant's eligibility under the earlier Notification No. 202/1988-CE was still pending adjudication, and the turnover for the preceding financial year depended on that unresolved issue.

Analysis: The exemption under Notification No. 01/93-CE was subject to the condition that the aggregate value of clearances in the preceding financial year did not exceed the prescribed threshold. The department treated the clearances as non-exempt on the footing that the earlier benefit under Notification No. 202/1988-CE was unavailable. Since the notice disputing eligibility under Notification No. 202/1988-CE was still pending, the foundational question affecting the computation of turnover had not attained finality. In that situation, the dispute under Notification No. 01/93-CE could not be conclusively decided.

Conclusion: The denial of SSI exemption could not be upheld at that stage, and the matter had to be remanded for fresh decision after the outcome of the pending proceedings concerning Notification No. 202/1988-CE.

Ratio Decidendi: Where eligibility for a prior exemption directly affects the turnover basis for a subsequent SSI exemption, and the earlier exemption dispute is still pending, the later exemption dispute is premature and must await final determination of the foundational issue.

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