Conditional exemption applies only from the opted date; rectification cannot shift the exemption's retrospective start absent apparent error.

A conditional exemption notification operates only from the date consciously opted by the assessee in its declaration, and rectification cannot be used to substitute an earlier retrospective commencement date unless an error apparent on record is shown. The applications sought modification of a final order to extend Notification No. 50/2003-CE backward and delete the confirmed duty demand for the earlier period, but the record showed the exemption had been claimed only from the declared dates. In the absence of any apparent mistake, the request to alter the final order was rejected, with the confirmed demand for the prior period left undisturbed in favour of Revenue.

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Issues: Whether the Final Order suffered from any mistake apparent on record warranting modification of the date from which the assessee could claim the benefit of Notification No. 50/2003-CE and consequent deletion of the confirmed duty demand for the earlier period.

Analysis: The applications sought to reopen the conclusion already reached in the Final Order that Notification No. 50/2003-CE was a conditional exemption notification and that the assessees had opted for the benefit only from the specific retrospective dates stated in their own declarations. The record showed that the exemption could not be compelled upon an assessee from an earlier date contrary to the choice recorded in the declaration. The demand had been confirmed only for the period prior to the opted dates, and no error apparent on record was shown to justify altering that determination through rectification.

Conclusion: No mistake apparent on record was established, and the request to modify the Final Order to extend the exemption further backward in time was rejected, in favour of Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: A conditional exemption can operate only from the date consciously opted by the assessee, and rectification cannot be used to substitute a different retrospective commencement date in the absence of an apparent error.

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