Procedural omission in exemption declaration cannot defeat substantive eligibility to claim Notification No. 49/2003-C.E. benefit.

Failure to mention the notification number in the exemption declaration was treated as a procedural defect where the assessee had filed the declaration before claiming the benefit and the departmental correspondence itself referred to the exemption notification. The record showed a clear intention to claim Notification No. 49/2003-C.E., and the assessee was otherwise eligible. On that basis, the omission could not override the substantive entitlement to exemption, and denial of the benefit was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the assessee could be denied the benefit of Notification No. 49/2003-C.E. for the relevant period merely because the declaration filed before the Department did not expressly mention the notification number.

Analysis: The assessee had filed the declaration before availing the exemption, and the departmental correspondence itself referred to the notification. The omission to mention the notification number in the declaration was held to be only a procedural defect. Since the assessee was otherwise eligible and the intent to claim the exemption was clear from the record, such omission could not defeat the substantive benefit of the exemption notification.

Conclusion: The denial of exemption was unsustainable and the issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

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