Annual undertaking requirement under exemption notification bars relief until the fresh filing is made.

Notification No. 41/99-C.E. was construed to require a fresh undertaking for each financial year, because the undertaking was expressly tied to the period from the date of filing until the end of that year. The earlier undertaking therefore lapsed on the close of financial year 2000-2001, and exemption could not be claimed for the intervening period before a new undertaking was furnished. The operative effect was that annual filing at the commencement of each financial year was necessary to continue availing the exemption.

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Issues: Whether the undertaking required for availing the exemption under Notification No. 41/99-C.E. had to be filed annually at the commencement of each financial year, and whether the exemption was unavailable for the period before the fresh undertaking was filed.

Analysis: The notification required the manufacturer to file an undertaking covering the relevant financial year, and the undertaking was expressly linked to the period from the date of filing until the end of that financial year. On that construction, the earlier undertaking expired with the close of the financial year 2000-2001. Since the exemption operated from the date of the undertaking, the benefit could not be claimed for the period during which the old undertaking had lapsed and the fresh undertaking had not yet been submitted.

Conclusion: The undertaking had to be filed annually at the start of each financial year, and the exemption was not available for the intervening period before the new undertaking was furnished.

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