Customs exemption notification amended later notification prevails and promissory estoppel cannot preserve full exemption

A later customs notification restricting an earlier exemption was applied to imported PVC resin, with the transaction entered into only after the restrictive change. The analysis notes that the earlier exemption notification of 15 March 1979 was modified on 16 October 1980 to confine the benefit to duty above 40% ad valorem. It further states that promissory estoppel could not be invoked to preserve full exemption against the amended fiscal notification, and that the importer's position was weaker because the letters of credit and import were made after the later notification. The claim to full exemption was therefore rejected and the Revenue's position was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the importer was entitled to claim the benefit of the earlier customs exemption notification despite the later notification restricting the exemption, and whether promissory estoppel could be invoked against the Government.

Analysis: The imported PVC resin was covered by an exemption notification issued on 15 March 1979, but that notification was modified on 16 October 1980 to restrict the exemption to duty in excess of 40% ad valorem. The letters of credit were opened only after the later notification, and the import was made thereafter. The Court applied its earlier ruling on the same notifications and held that, even where an importer had acted before the later notification in the earlier case, no right to full exemption or promissory estoppel survived against the modified fiscal notification. On the present facts, the importer's position was even weaker because the transaction itself was entered into after the restrictive notification.

Conclusion: The claim to full exemption was rejected and promissory estoppel was not available against the later notification; the appeal succeeded in favour of the Revenue.

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