JUDGMENT

RANGANATHAN, J.:— The appellant, M/s. Auto Tractors Limited, is a company manufacturing tractors. For purposes of manufacture, the company imports certain parts and components from abroad.

2. There are two notifications of the Government of India granting certain concessions from the levy of customs duty which are applicable to such goods as have been imported by the appellant. The first of these, namely, Notification No. 200/79 dated 28-9-1979 (as amended from time to time) exempts components "required for the manufacture of heavy commercial motor vehicles........or of tractors" from so much of the customs duty as is in excess of 25 per cent ad valorem and the whole of the additional duty leviable thereon. The grant of the concession subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions specified in the notification. The second notification was notification No. 179/80 dated 4-9-1980 (as amended from time to time). This notification confers an exemption in respect of parts of articles falling under specific headings in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. These admittedly included parts required for the purposes of the initial setting up or for the assembly or manufacture of "tractors", this being an article falling under heading No. 87.01 (1) of the First Schedule above referred to. This exemption was in respect of so much of the customs duty as is in excess of the rate applicable to the said article (i.e. tractor) when imported complete. This concession was again subject to a certificate and recommendation from certain specified authorities, one of whom is the Directorate General of Technical Development (DGTD). The relief available to the assessee under the first notification of 1979 is, apparently, larger than the one available under the second notification of 1980.

3. The appellant company imported three consignments. Each of the consignments was cleared after production of a certificate from the DGTD in the following terms :

"Certified that M/s. Auto Tractors Ltd., Lucknow are holding a valid Industrial Licence for the manufacture of agricultural tractors and have an approved manufacturing programme. It is further certified that the above components of agricultural tractors, which fall under ICT No. 87.01(1) qualify for concessional rate of import duty in terms of Customs Notification No. 179/F No. 370/99/79-CUS.I dated 4-9-1980."

(Underlining ours).

Apparently, since the certificates of the DGTD referred only to Notification No. 179/80, the appellant was granted the concession available under the said Notification. The appellant cleared the goods, availing itself of the said concession, in March, May and June 1981.

4. Subsequently, the appellant appears to have realised that it was entitled to the larger concession available under Notification No. 200 of 1979 and that it had erred in clearing the goods after payment of duty subject only to the smaller concession available under Notification No. 179 of 1980. The appellant threfore filed three refund applications in August, September and October 1981 claiming refund to the extent of Rs. 1,55,342.50, Rs. 1,28,350.05 and Rs. 6,46,415.44, being the difference between the entitlements of concession under the two notifications in question. It also appears that the appellant subsequently applied to the DGTD for an amendment of the original certificates to make it clear that the goods imported by the appellant were eligible for the concession under notification No. 200 of 79. The DGTD on such application issued a certificate to the following effect :

"Certified that M/s. Auto Tractors Ltd. Pratapgarh are holding an Industrial Licence to manufacture Agricultural Tractors and have an approved manufacturing programme. It is further certified that the items listed above are components of agricultural tractors falling under ITC No. 87.01 (1) and are eligible for concessional rate of import duty under custom notificaton No. 200/79 and 52/81 as extended by Customs notificati