Clarificatory customs notification preserved exemption benefit during the interregnum despite an inadvertent omission.

A later customs notification that corrected an inadvertent omission was treated as clarificatory, preserving the original exemption scheme for the intervening period. The dispute concerned whether concessional basic customs duty under Notification No. 46/2011-Cus. remained available before Notification No. 127/2011-Cus. expressly clarified the tariff coverage. Applying the principle that a clarification restoring an existing exemption policy may operate retrospectively in effect, the omitted tariff headings were held not to have altered the intended benefit during the interregnum. The appellant was therefore entitled to the concessional duty, and denial of exemption was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to the concessional basic customs duty under Notification No. 46/2011-Cus. during the interregnum period notwithstanding the omission later clarified by Notification No. 127/2011-Cus.

Analysis: The dispute turned on whether the later notification merely corrected an inadvertent omission and clarified the original exemption scheme, or whether the benefit stood denied for the intervening period. The reasoning followed the principle that where the Government's consistent exemption policy is later restored or clarified to cure an apparent mistake, the later notification may be treated as clarificatory and the exemption may continue for the disputed period. Applying that principle to the facts, the omission of the relevant tariff headings was treated as not altering the intended exemption coverage during the interregnum.

Conclusion: The appellant was eligible for the benefit of the notification during the interregnum period, and the Revenue's denial of exemption was held to be unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an exemption notification is later clarified to correct an inadvertent omission and the original policy of exemption remains intact, the clarification may operate to preserve the benefit for the intervening period.

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