Strict interpretation of export GTA exemption bars pre-amendment land customs station claims; extended limitation and penalty fail absent mala fides.

Strict interpretation of exemption notifications required Notification No. 31/2012-ST to be read according to its plain terms: before the amendment effective from 01.04.2015, transport of export goods by GTA was covered only up to a port or airport, so exports through a land customs station did not qualify. The amendment inserting land customs station was therefore treated as a new coverage, not a clarification. On limitation, the longer period was held unavailable because the department knew the relevant export route and the procedural requirements had been followed, with no mala fide conduct shown. Penalty was also not sustainable on the same facts.

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Issues: (i) Whether GTA services used for export of goods from a land customs station were covered by the exemption under Notification No. 31/2012-ST before its amendment. (ii) Whether the demand could sustain for the extended period of limitation and whether penalty was imposable.

Issue (i): Whether GTA services used for export of goods from a land customs station were covered by the exemption under Notification No. 31/2012-ST before its amendment.

Analysis: The exemption notification, as originally issued, covered transport of export goods by goods transport agency only up to a port or airport. The text did not include a land customs station, and the later amendment inserted that expression with effect from 01.04.2015. An exemption notification has to be construed according to its clear language, and where the wording is unambiguous, the scope cannot be enlarged by referring to supposed legislative intent.

Conclusion: The exemption was not available for exports through a land customs station prior to the amendment.

Issue (ii): Whether the demand could sustain for the extended period of limitation and whether penalty was imposable.

Analysis: The procedural requirements under the notification had been followed, and the department was aware that the exports were made from a land customs station. In the absence of mala fide conduct, the longer limitation period was not justified. On the same reasoning, penalty could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The demand for the extended period was barred by limitation, and the penalty was set aside.

Final Conclusion: The exemption claim failed on merits for the period prior to amendment, but the time-bar issue and penalty were decided in favour of the assessee, leaving only the demand within the normal limitation period to be re-quantified.

Ratio Decidendi: An exemption notification must be interpreted strictly according to its plain language, and the extended limitation period cannot be invoked in the absence of mala fide conduct where the department had knowledge of the relevant facts.

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