Imported goods cleared and sold as fertilizers did not meet the...

Imported goods cleared and sold as fertilizers did not meet the post 2011 exemption condition limiting nil duty to inputs used in fertilizer manufacture; appellants paid the differential countervailing duty and interest voluntarily before show cause, and explained the omission as a bona fide, unintentional mistake. The tribunal found no element of suppression and held that penal provisions enacted later do not apply to the 2011 dispute period; accordingly, invocation of penalty for suppression and confirmation of interest and confiscation were set aside, and the appeal allowed to that extent.

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