Customs exemption for CAPD solution bags upheld despite import without tubing system, with later wording read as clarificatory.

Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis solution bags were treated as eligible for Customs exemption under Notification No. 23/98-Cus. The later phrase "along with tubing system" was read as expanding the exemption to cover bags imported with tubing, not as restricting the earlier benefit to only such imports. The tubing system was considered ancillary and separately procurable, and a narrow construction would defeat the exemption's purpose. The 1999 amendment was regarded as clarificatory, confirming that the intended benefit always extended to CAPD solution bags. The denial of exemption was therefore set aside in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis solution bags imported without tubing system were entitled to exemption under Notification No. 23/98-Cus. on the footing that the expression "along with tubing system" limited the exemption only to bags imported with tubing.

Analysis: The notification history showed that the Customs exemption was consistently aimed at life-saving CAPD fluid bags. The later wording "along with tubing system" was read as expanding the scope of the exemption to cover bags imported with tubing, not as curtailing the earlier benefit. The tubing system was only ancillary to the use of the bag and could be procured separately. A restrictive reading would defeat the object of the exemption and render the notification otiose. The subsequent amendment in 1999 was treated as clarificatory, reinforcing that the intended benefit was always for CAPD solution bags.

Conclusion: The bags imported without tubing system were held to be covered by the exemption, and the denial of benefit was ? No, avoid non-English. The denial of exemption was set aside in favour of the assessee.

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