Importer-specific customs conditions cannot deny excise exemption to a domestic supplier under international competitive bidding.

A domestic manufacturer supplying goods to ONGC under international competitive bidding was eligible for exemption under the Central Excise notification because the goods themselves were otherwise covered by the exemption. Conditions contained in the corresponding Customs notification, including affidavit and other requirements framed for importers, could not be imported into the excise exemption framework to deny relief to a domestic supplier. The operative principle is that importer-specific conditions cannot be applied to a domestic clearances exemption where eligibility is already established, making the demand unsustainable and the exemption available to the assessee.

---

---

Issues: Whether a domestic manufacturer supplying goods to ONGC under international competitive bidding was entitled to exemption under Notification No. 12/2012-CE dated 17.03.2012, and whether the conditions in Notification No. 12/2012-Customs dated 17.03.2012 meant for importers could be invoked to deny that exemption.

Analysis: The goods supplied under international competitive bidding were not in dispute as eligible for exemption, and the controversy centred only on whether an affidavit and other conditions framed for importers under the Customs notification could be insisted upon from a domestic supplier. The applicable exemption under the Central Excise notification turned on fulfilment of the conditions relevant to domestic clearance under international competitive bidding, not on compliance with importer-specific requirements. The reasoning applied the settled view that conditions intended for importers cannot be transferred to domestic manufacturers when the eligibility of the goods for exemption is otherwise established.

Conclusion: The domestic supplier was entitled to the exemption, and the demand based on importer-specific conditions was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The exemption dispute was resolved in favour of the assessee, the impugned orders were set aside, and the appeals were allowed with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Conditions in a customs exemption notification that are specifically framed for importers cannot be used to deny a central excise exemption to a domestic supplier when the goods are otherwise eligible and supplied under international competitive bidding.

---