Conditional exemption for polyvinyl alcohol applied only to indigenous manufacture from duty-paid inputs, excluding imported goods.

Conditional exemption under Notification No. 185/83-C.E. was treated as available only where polyvinyl alcohol was manufactured from vinyl acetate monomer on which the relevant excise duty or additional customs duty had been paid. Imported polyvinyl alcohol failed that condition because the monomer used in its manufacture could not have borne such duty in India. The notification was read, in line with an earlier Tribunal view, as intended for indigenously manufactured polyvinyl alcohol rather than imported goods, so imported material did not qualify for exemption.

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Issues: Whether polyvinyl alcohol imported by the appellants was entitled to exemption under Notification No. 185/83-C.E. dated 02.07.1983.

Analysis: The exemption was treated as conditional upon the goods being manufactured from vinyl acetate monomer on which the appropriate excise duty or additional duty of customs had been paid. The imported polyvinyl alcohol could not satisfy that condition because the monomer used in its manufacture could not have borne such duty in India. The matter was held to be covered by the Tribunal's earlier decision that the notification was intended to apply only to indigenously manufactured polyvinyl alcohol and not to imported goods.

Conclusion: The imported goods were not entitled to the benefit of the exemption notification, and the appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A conditional exemption notification applies only when all stipulated conditions are satisfied, and where the condition is that the goods must be indigenously manufactured from duty-paid inputs, imported goods do not qualify.

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