Prior contract registration is mandatory for concessional project import assessment; late registration defeats the benefit.

Concessional assessment under Tariff Heading 84.66 was contingent on prior registration of the import contract before clearance of the goods under the Project Imports (Registration and Contracts) Regulations, 1965. The mandatory registration requirement was not satisfied where the contract had not been registered in time, so the benefit of concessional assessment was unavailable. A plea of confusion about the documents needed for registration did not excuse non-compliance with the regulatory condition. The claim for concessional assessment was therefore rejected, confirming that prior contract registration is a mandatory precondition for the project import benefit.

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Issues: Whether concessional assessment under Tariff Heading 84.66 was available when the import contract had not been registered before clearance of the goods under the Project Imports (Registration and Contracts) Regulations, 1965.

Analysis: The entitlement to concessional assessment depended on prior registration of the relevant contract before clearance of the goods. The absence of such registration meant that the statutory and regulatory condition for the benefit was not satisfied. The plea of confusion about the documents required for registration did not displace the mandatory requirement.

Conclusion: The claim for concessional assessment was rejected and the requirement of prior contract registration was held to be mandatory, against the appellant.

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