Judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of M/S SRF Ltd. versus Commissioner of Customs, Chennai —Clarification relating to notifications No. 30/2004/-CE dated 09.07.2004, No. 1/2011-CE dated 01.03.2011 and No. 12/2012-CE dated 17.03.2012, as amended

CVD exemption clarified: manufacturer must satisfy non availment condition, preserving domestic concessional excise treatment.

The Board amended relevant notifications to clarify that the non availment condition for excise duty exemption must be met by the manufacturer (not the importer), and added explanations that 'appropriate duty' includes nil or concessional duty or tax whether or not read with existing exemption notifications; domestically manufactured goods covered by these entries therefore continue to be exempt or subject to concessional excise treatment as before the amendments.