https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=757079 Area-based exemption under Notification No. 50/2003-C.E. could not be denied merely because the required declaration was filed belatedly, where the assessee otherwise satisfied the substantive eligibility conditions. The controlling principle applied was that exemption notifications granting incentive benefits are to be construed liberally, and procedural requirements that are directory cannot defeat substantive entitlement. The earlier view in the assessee's own case, followed in later decisions, treated the omission as neither suppression nor mala fide conduct when the assessee acted under a bona fide belief. The procedural lapse was held insufficient to sustain the demand, the impugned order was set aside, and the appeal was allowed with consequential relief. en-us Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 14 Aug 2024 21:57:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=757079 Area-based exemption under Notification No. 50/2003-C.E. could not be denied merely because the required declaration was filed belatedly, where the assessee otherwise satisfied the substantive eligibility conditions. The controlling principle applied was that exemption notifications granting incentive benefits are to be construed liberally, and procedural requirements that are directory cannot defeat substantive entitlement. The earlier view in the assessee's own case, followed in later decisions, treated the omission as neither suppression nor mala fide conduct when the assessee acted under a bona fide belief. The procedural lapse was held insufficient to sustain the demand, the impugned order was set aside, and the appeal was allowed with consequential relief. Case-Laws Central Excise Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=757079