Exemption for sulphuric acid under Notification 217/86-C.E. upheld as the issue was already settled by binding precedent.

Sulphuric acid cleared without payment of duty was held eligible for exemption under Notification No. 217/86-C.E. because the same product and parties had already been covered by an earlier Tribunal decision that examined the manufacturing process and use of the acid and granted the benefit. The departmental challenge to that earlier decision had been dismissed by the Supreme Court, so the Tribunal treated the issue as finally settled and refused to reopen the exemption question. The departmental appeal therefore failed, and the exemption remained available to the assessee.

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Issues: Whether sulphuric acid cleared without payment of duty was eligible for the benefit of Notification No. 217/86-C.E.

Analysis: The entitlement to the notification had already been decided in an earlier Tribunal decision involving the same product and the same parties. That decision had examined the manufacturing process and the use of sulphuric acid and had granted the exemption. The departmental challenge to that decision had been dismissed by the Supreme Court, leaving no surviving ground to reopen the same question.

Conclusion: The exemption under Notification No. 217/86-C.E. was applicable, and the departmental appeal failed.

Final Conclusion: The Tribunal treated the controversy as settled by the earlier binding decision and declined to disturb the exemption granted to the assessee.

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