Project import exemption survives pre-registration clearance where application and sponsoring authority approval were already in place.

Project import duty exemption could not be denied merely because imported goods were cleared before formal registration of the contract, where the importer had already applied for registration and the sponsoring authority had issued its recommendation before import. The Tribunal applied its earlier rulings that pre-registration clearance does not by itself defeat eligibility when the registration process was already initiated and the necessary approval had been obtained. On these facts, the subsequent formal registration was treated as sufficient to sustain the concessional assessment, and the denial of project import benefit was set aside with consequential relief.

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Issues: Whether the benefit of project import duty exemption can be denied merely because the goods were cleared before formal registration of the contract, where the application for registration and sponsoring authority's recommendation had been made before import.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the timing of the registration of the project contract vis-a -vis clearance of the imported goods. The Tribunal relied on its earlier decisions holding that clearance of goods before formal registration does not by itself defeat eligibility for project import benefit when the importer has already applied for registration and the sponsoring authority's approval has been issued. On the facts, the application for registration was made before import, the sponsoring authority's letter had already been issued, and the contract was subsequently registered. The Tribunal treated these circumstances as sufficient to establish entitlement to the project import exemption.

Conclusion: The benefit of project import could not be denied to the appellant solely on the ground that the goods were cleared before the contract was formally registered.

Final Conclusion: The assessment denying project import benefit was set aside and the appellant was granted the consequential relief flowing from concessional assessment.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an importer has applied for registration of a project contract before import and the sponsoring authority has issued its recommendation, subsequent clearance of goods before formal registration does not, by itself, bar the grant of project import benefit.

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