Accidental omission in revisional order cannot defeat substantive relief; September 1976 clearances remained covered and duty demand failed.

An accidental omission in a revisional or administrative order cannot defeat the substantive relief intended by the authority. Reading the revisional order with the exemption notification and the later notification enabling extension of time, the Gujarat HC treated the reference period as covering clearances from 1-6-1976 to 30-11-1976, including September 1976. The omission to expressly mention September 1976 was regarded as a clerical error, and a duty demand founded only on that literal omission was unsustainable. The writ petition succeeded, and the demand notice and demand order were set aside.

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Issues: Whether the revisional order extending time for furnishing proof of payment to the fertilisers pool equalisation fund covered the September 1976 clearances, and whether the consequent duty demand could survive.

Analysis: The revisional order, read with the exemption notification and the later notification empowering extension of time, showed an intention to cover clearances made from 1-6-1976 to 30-11-1976. The omission to specifically mention September 1976 was treated as an accidental omission or clerical error. Such an error could not be allowed to defeat the substantive relief granted by the revisional authority, and the consequential demand based on a literal reading of the omission could not stand.

Conclusion: The September 1976 clearances were held to be covered by the extended period, and the consequential duty demand was quashed. The decision was in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded, the revisional order was read as including September 1976 clearances, and the consequential demand notice and demand order were set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: An accidental omission in a revisional or administrative order cannot override the evident substance of the relief granted, and a consequential demand founded solely on such omission is unsustainable.

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