Exemption for Phenol USP grade sustained after High Court classification supported relief and made remand unnecessary.

Phenol USP grade was treated as eligible for exemption under Notification No. 234/82-C.E. as amended by Notification No. 174/83, because a later Bombay High Court ruling had already classified the same product as a drug and drug intermediate under the predecessor notification. On that basis, the Tribunal considered the earlier view displaced and found no need for remand for fresh consideration. The relief granted to the importer was sustained and the departmental appeals failed.

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Issues: Whether Phenol USP grade was entitled to exemption under the amended customs/excise notification, and whether the matter required remand for fresh consideration.

Analysis: The claim for concession rested on the product's eligibility under Notification No. 234/82-C.E. as amended by Notification No. 174/83. The prior view of the Tribunal was treated as displaced by the Bombay High Court's later decision holding the same product to be a drug and drug intermediate under the predecessor Notification No. 55/75-C.E. The existence of that High Court ruling made remand unnecessary, since the relief already granted by the lower appellate authority was supported on the basis of the same product's classification in the later judgment.

Conclusion: The product was treated as eligible for the exemption, and the request for remand was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The impugned relief in favour of the importer was sustained and the departmental appeals failed.

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