Exemption notification compliance required filing the prescribed statement before set-off duty or refund could be claimed.

Furnishing the prescribed statement, declaration and chartered accountant's certificate in the notified proforma was a mandatory condition precedent for claiming set-off duty and refund under the exemption scheme. The notifications, read together, required strict compliance with that filing requirement; a mere intention to claim the benefit did not satisfy the prescribed terms. As the statement was filed only on 2-6-1979, relief was unavailable for any earlier period, and the assessee could not claim refund or set-off before that date.

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Issues: Whether furnishing the prescribed statement in the proforma under the exemption notifications was a condition precedent for availing set-off duty and refund, so as to disentitle the assessee from claiming relief for the period before the statement was filed.

Analysis: Notification No. 178/77-C.E. granted relief on duty paid on inputs used in the manufacture of finished goods. Notification No. 295/77-C.E. introduced a further requirement that the manufacturer furnish to the proper officer a detailed statement, declaration and chartered accountant's certificate in the prescribed form. The requirement was not treated as a mere procedural formality, but as an integral part of the exemption scheme. The notifications, read together, made the furnishing of the statement a mandatory precondition for the grant of relief. A mere expression of intention to claim the benefit did not amount to compliance with the prescribed terms. Since the statement was actually furnished only on 2-6-1979, the assessee could not claim entitlement to set-off or refund for any earlier period.

Conclusion: The prescribed statement was a condition precedent for availing the notification benefit, and the assessee was not entitled to refund or set-off for the period prior to filing it.

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