Excise exemption depends on prior application and permission; notification date alone does not create an automatic right.

Exemption under the excise scheme was not self-operative on publication of the notification. The benefit could be availed only after filing the application required under Rule 56A of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 and obtaining permission from the proper officer. The notification's commencement date did not create an automatic or absolute right to claim exemption for goods without compliance with that procedure. The operative effect was that exemption depended on adherence to the prescribed application and approval process, and permission could be restricted to the date of application.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of the exemption from the date on which the notification came into force, notwithstanding that the application required under the relevant excise procedure was filed later.

Analysis: The exemption was not self-operative on publication of the notification. The scheme required an application under Rule 56A of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 and permission by the proper officer before the benefit could be availed of for the goods in question. The grant of exemption therefore depended on compliance with the prescribed procedure, and the mere fact that the notification had come into force earlier did not confer an automatic or absolute right to claim the benefit from that date without the requisite application and permission.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to claim the exemption from the date of the notification, and the restriction of permission to the date of application was upheld.

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