CTD bar exemption clarified under excise notification, with later notification treated as merely confirmatory.

CTD bars twisted after rolling were treated as covered by Notification No. 202/88-C.E. for bars and rods under Heading 7214.90, because the deletion and later reintroduction of the reference to twisted bars was read as clarification rather than a substantive change. The note relies on legislative intent, the departmental circulars, and the tribunal's earlier view to conclude that the exemption extended to CTD bars. It also distinguishes a Supreme Court decision involving a new condition in a customs exemption notification, treating that reasoning as inapplicable to this sequence of notifications.

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Issues: Whether CTD bars twisted after rolling were entitled to exemption under Notification No. 202/88-C.E. dated 20-05-1988, and whether the later Notification No. 170/89-C.E. was clarificatory in nature.

Analysis: The applicable exemption notification covered bars and rods under Heading 7214.90, and the deletion and later re-introduction of the words relating to twisted bars showed that the later notification only clarified the earlier position. The Tribunal followed its earlier view that the notification, read in light of legislative intent and the departmental understanding reflected in circulars, exempted CTD bars. The reliance on a different Supreme Court decision was rejected because that case involved a fresh condition in a customs exemption notification, unlike the present sequence of notifications.

Conclusion: The CTD bars were held entitled to exemption under Notification No. 202/88-C.E. dated 20-05-1988, and the demand, penalty, and confiscation were set aside.

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