Option letter not mandatory for exemption claim; benefit follows receipt of the classification list or option communication.

A separate option letter was not mandatory for availing Notification No. 9/99; the benefit could validly be claimed in the classification list. Eligibility arose from the date on which the option letter or classification list claiming the benefit was received in the office of the Assistant Commissioner. Because the relevant receipt dates differed across the matters, the effective date of exemption had to be determined by ascertaining that date in each case, and remand was required for that limited purpose.

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Issues: Whether a separate option letter was mandatory for availing the benefit of Notification No. 9/99 dated 28.02.1999, and from what date the benefit became available where the claim was made in the classification list or option communication.

Analysis: The notification did not require the option to be exercised only by a separate letter. A claim for the benefit of the notification could validly be made in the classification list. The benefit was therefore linked to the date on which the option letter or classification list claiming the benefit was received in the office of the Assistant Commissioner. As the relevant dates of receipt differed in the appeals, those dates had to be ascertained for determining eligibility and the effective date of the benefit.

Conclusion: A separate option letter was not mandatory. The assessee became eligible from the date of receipt of the option letter or classification list claiming the benefit, and the matters were required to be remanded for determination of that date.

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