CESTAT dismissed Revenue's appeal challenging concessional...

CESTAT dismissed Revenue's appeal challenging concessional customs duty benefit under S.No.400 of Notification 21/2002-Cus for project imports. Respondent imported goods under provisional assessment for mega power project lacking final mega power status at clearance. CESTAT held final mega power certificate dated 01.02.2012 constituted substantive compliance and represented continuation of earlier in-principle/provisional status. Tribunal ruled provisional assessment under Section 18 permits duty modification upon finalization when notification benefits become available. Since project qualified as mega power plant with required capacity and regulatory compliance, retrospective application of concessional duty was permissible. Revenue's contention that final status must exist at import clearance was rejected, establishing precedent for provisional assessment flexibility in project imports.

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