Preferential customs exemption survives minor certificate defects where origin and direct-consignment requirements are otherwise proved.

Preferential customs exemption under Notification No. 46/2011-Cus could not be denied merely because the certificate of origin omitted the invoice number, where the record otherwise showed that the goods were wholly obtained in Indonesia and directly consigned to India. The certificate contained the ship name, sailing date, cargo quantity and origin details, and the direct-consignment requirement under Rule 8 was satisfied. Because invoice particulars were not expressly required by the notification or the rules, the omission was treated as an inadvertent defect that did not defeat the exemption claim. The impugned order was set aside and the appeal succeeded.

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Issues: Whether the benefit of Notification No. 46/2011-Cus dated 01.06.2011 could be denied merely because the certificate of origin did not mention the invoice number, when the other particulars showed that the goods were wholly obtained in Indonesia and were directly consigned to India.

Analysis: The certificate of origin contained the ship name, date of sailing, quantity of cargo and the country of origin, and column 8 indicated that the goods were wholly obtained. The import was also found to satisfy the direct consignment requirement under Rule 8. The omission of invoice details was not found to be a requirement expressly mandated by the notification or the rules. Since the other particulars corroborated the origin and movement of the cargo, the omission was treated as an inadvertent defect and not a basis to deny the preferential exemption.

Conclusion: The benefit of the notification could not be denied on the sole ground of non-mention of the invoice number. The impugned order was set aside and the appeal succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The import satisfied the origin and direct-consignment conditions for preferential treatment, and a minor defect in the certificate of origin did not defeat the exemption claim.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the substantive conditions of a preferential exemption are otherwise satisfied, a non-mandatory omission in the certificate of origin does not justify denial of the benefit if the origin and direct-consignment requirements are established on the record.

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