TMI Blog2017 (6) TMI 1024X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... st issued. The said notification was amended on 05/11/2003 which brought in specifically three conditions for availing the notification - these are basic and substantial requirements to avail the exemption. These are specifically inserted after the issue of notification and clearly are intended to counter any misuse of the ‘area based exemption’ and also to make aware the jurisdictional officer about the exemption being availed by the assessee. These conditions do have specific legal implication and by no means be considered as a simple procedural requirement, infringement of which is condonable - the conditions inserted in Notification No. 50/2003-CE are mandatory and cannot be held as mere procedural requirement - appeal dismissed - decid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lant. On appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) denied the exemption under Notification No.50/2003-CE, as amended and held that the appellants are liable to pay Central Excise duty after crossing the SSI exemption limit of ₹ 1,00,00,000/-. He reduced the penalty to ₹ 4,00,000/-. 2. The learned Counsel for the appellant submitted that the substantial benefit provided by the exemption Notification No.50/2003-CE, as amended, which is to encourage the industrial units in backward areas, cannot be denied on the failure of fulfillment of procedural requirement. He submitted that filing of a declaration as required under Notification No. 50/2003-CE, as amended by Notification No. 76/2003-CE, is only procedural. Further, he referred to c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and shall not be withdrawn during the remaining part of the financial year; (ii) The manufacturer shall, while exercising the option under condition (i), inform in writing to the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise or Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be, with a copy to the Superintendent of Central Excise giving the following particulars, namely :- (a) name and address of the manufacturer, (b) location/locations of factory/factories ; (c) description of inputs used in manufacture of specified goods ; (d) description of the specified goods produced; (e) date on which option under this notification has been exercised ; (iii) The manufacturer may, for the curre ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es the object and the purpose of the statute has not been met. Certainly, it means that the Court should determine whether the statute has been followed sufficiently so as to carry out the intent for which the statute was enacted and not a mirror image type of strict compliance. Substantial compliance means actual compliance in respect to the substance essential to every reasonable objective of the statute and the court should determine whether the statute has been followed sufficiently so as to carry out the intent of the statute and accomplish the reasonable objectives for which it was passed. Fiscal statute generally seeks to preserve the need to comply strictly with regulatory requirements that are important, especially when a party s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iance. In other words, a mere attempted compliance may not be sufficient, but actual compliance of those factors which are considered as essential . 6. After careful consideration of the principles laid down by the Hon ble Supreme Court and the facts of the present case, we are of the considered opinion that the conditions inserted in Notification No.50/2003-CE are mandatory and cannot be held as mere procedural requirement. For effective monitoring of the exemption such pre-condition has been inserted in the notification. We find that in the present case, the appellants failed to fulfill the condition. Accordingly, we find no infirmity in the impugned order. The appeal is dismissed. (Order pronounced in the open court on 23/06/2017 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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