Procedural delay in exemption notification filing does not defeat refund when substantive conditions are satisfied.

Delay in filing the statement prescribed under Para 4(a) or Para 5(d) of Notification No. 01/2010-CE was treated as a procedural lapse, not a substantive defect. Because the underlying conditions for the exemption/refund benefit were otherwise satisfied, the belated filing did not defeat admissibility of the claim. CESTAT Chandigarh held that denial of refund solely on account of delayed compliance was unsustainable and set aside the refusal, granting the benefit to the assessee with consequential relief as per law.

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Issues: Whether delay in filing the statement required under Para 4(a) or Para 5(d) of Notification No. 01/2010-CE dated 06.02.2010 was a procedural lapse that could not justify denial of refund or exemption benefit.

Analysis: The filing of the statement within the prescribed time was treated as a procedural requirement under the exemption notification. The substantive conditions of the notification were found to have been complied with, and the delay in filing the statement was not regarded as fatal to the claim. The decision followed earlier Tribunal rulings on the same notification, which had held that delayed compliance with the filing requirement did not defeat the benefit where the underlying entitlement was otherwise established.

Conclusion: The delayed filing did not invalidate the claim, and denial of refund on that ground was unsustainable. The benefit under the notification was held admissible to the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the refund denial based solely on belated filing was set aside, with consequential relief as per law.

Ratio Decidendi: Delay in complying with a procedural requirement under an exemption notification does not defeat the exemption where the substantive conditions of the notification are satisfied.

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