Drugs Controller certificate under exemption notification must be accepted; Customs cannot add conditions not found in the text.

An exemption notification for imported bulk drugs required a certificate from the Drugs Controller confirming that the goods fell within the notification and were normally used for diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of disease. The certificate produced for Tartaric Acid specifically covered the goods in question, and no fixed form was prescribed. A certificate issued before actual import was not invalid if it related to the goods imported. The phrase "conforming to pharmacopoeial standards" was not read as requiring the product itself to bear a B.P. or U.S.P. designation. Customs could not go behind the competent authority's certification, and the exemption was available.

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Issues: Whether the certificate issued by the Drugs Controller satisfied the condition in Notification No. 234/86-C.E. so as to entitle the imported Tartaric Acid to exemption from countervailing duty.

Analysis: The notification required production of a certificate from the Drugs Controller to the Government of India stating that the goods claimed for exemption were bulk drugs within the meaning of the notification and were normally used for diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of disease. The certificate produced specifically certified Tartaric Acid (Technical or B.P./U.S.P. Grade) as eligible for exemption under the notification. No fixed form of certificate was prescribed, and the certificate was not invalid merely because it was issued before actual import, so long as it covered the goods in question. The expression "conforming to pharmacopoeial standards" was not construed to require a label or designation such as B.P./U.S.P. on the product itself; once the competent authority had certified the goods as bulk drugs, Customs could not go behind that certificate.

Conclusion: The certificate was sufficient and the appellants were entitled to the benefit of the exemption notification.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an exemption notification requires a certificate from the competent drug authority, Customs cannot disregard a valid certificate issued for the goods covered by it, and the notification must be applied according to the authority's certification without importing additional conditions not found in the notification.

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