📢 Important Case Law Alert: The Kolkata bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has, in the case of M/s. Softel Overseas Private Limited vs. Commissioner of Customs (Port), Kolkata 2023 Taxscan (CESTAT) 1569, quashed the denial of customs duty exemption on the grounds of procedural lapse. Facts Of The Case: 🔹Sofitel Overseas Private Limited, the assessee, filed five Bills of Entry seeking the benefit of Notification No. 12/2012-Customs as amended by Notification No. 25/2013-Customs and paid duty at 7.5% at the time of clearance of the said goods. 🔹The adjudicating authority rejected the benefit conferred by the notification, citing certain procedural lapses. 🔹The assessee filed an appeal against the said order of the department. Tribunal's Verdict: 🔹The Bench observed that the omission, as pointed out, does not violate any of the provisions of the Rules referred to above, which could entail the denial of the exemption. 🔹It was also settled law that where a more beneficial exemption is available to the assessee, it cannot be precluded from seeking duty relief thereto. 🔹The tribunal further observed that procedural lapses, if any, cannot come in the way of disallowing a substantive benefit to the party, as long as there was no prejudice caused to the contents and the intentions of the documents. 🔹The two-member bench comprising Ashok Jindal (Judicial) and Rajeev Tandon (Technical) quashed the denial of the benefit of duty exemption. Conclusion: This is an important judgment, as the tribunal has rightly held that failure to comply with certain procedures mentioned in the law cannot be used as a tool to deny the benefit conferred upon the assessees by the law.