Declaration filing for exemption benefit required factual verification where office seal and initials indicated possible receipt of the claim.

Entitlement to the benefit of Notification No. 140/83 turned on whether the assessee had filed the required declaration, and the record showed a carbon copy of the declaration with a related letter bearing the Assistant Collector's office seal, initials and date. The absence of the declaration from the departmental file was not, by itself, sufficient to disprove filing. Because the authenticity of the seal, initials and receipt of the communication required verification, a factual enquiry was necessary before rejecting the claim. The order was therefore set aside and the matter remanded for factual verification and fresh disposal in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the assessee had filed the declaration required for availing the benefit of Notification No. 140/83 and whether the matter required remand for factual verification.

Analysis: The record contained a carbon copy of the declaration and a related letter bearing the seal of the Assistant Collector's office together with the officer's initials and date. The absence of the declaration from the departmental file did not, by itself, establish that no declaration had been filed. Since the authenticity of the seal, the initials, and the receipt of the communication needed proper verification, a factual enquiry was necessary before rejecting the claim.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the Collector for factual verification and fresh disposal in accordance with law.

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