Opportunity to furnish required exemption certificate must be given before rejecting claim; matter remanded for fresh decision.

Exemption under Notification No. 75/94-CE was refused because the certificate referred to in the CBEC circular dated 3-4-1996 had not been produced. The tribunal found that the certificate was neither called for nor given an opportunity to be furnished before disposal of the appeals, and that the assessees should have been allowed a reasonable chance to obtain and submit it. The impugned order was therefore set aside and the matter remanded to the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner for fresh decision after granting reasonable opportunity of hearing.

---

---

Issues: Whether the assessees were entitled to an opportunity to produce the certificate required under the CBEC circular before rejection of their claim for exemption and whether the matter should be remanded for fresh decision.

Analysis: The claim for exemption under Notification No. 75/94-CE was rejected by the lower appellate authority for non-production of the certificate referred to in the CBEC circular dated 3-4-1996. The certificate had not been called for or produced before disposal of the appeals. The Court held that the assessees should have been given a reasonable opportunity to obtain and produce the certificate before the appeals were decided.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner for fresh decision after granting reasonable opportunity of hearing to the assessees.

---