“17. Coming to the fourth point, in so far as the refusal to register the contract with M/s. Asea Stal is concerned, no fault can be found therewith. Mere making of an application for registration does not confer any vested right in the applicant. The application has to be decided in accordance with the law applicable on the date on which the authority granting the registration is called upon to apply its mind to the prayer for registration. The correspondence between the parties shows that further information-material in nature and having impact on acceptability of the respondent's prayer - was called for from the applicant and therefore the prayer was not ripe for consideration. In between there were drastic changes in the factual matrix. The exemption notification had stood clarified and Project Imports (Registration of Contract) Regulations, 1965 under which the application for registration was made had stood superseded by Project Imports Regulations, 1986. No fault can be found with the refusal to register the contract. We find no merit in the submission of the learned senior counsel for the respondent that one application for registration having been moved in respect of the two contracts and the goods forming subject matter of the two contracts being complementary to each other for the purpose of erecting the power plant, the registration of one of the contracts having been allowed, the prayer for registration of the other contract could not have been refused. Though the refusal to register the respondent's contract with M/s. Asea Stal as contained in the letter of Assistant Collector of Customs, Paradeep dated 17.8.1987 is being upheld, we would like to make it clear that this refusal has to be read in the light of the averments made in the application dated 28.1.1986 of the respondent wherein it was stated that the registration of the contract was sought for securing the benefit of the Exemption Notification No. 71/85-cus. of 17.3.1985 and thereby treating the respondent's imports for power project assessable at nil duty. If the respondent's contract is entitled for registration for any purpose other than the one mentioned in the application, i.e., seeking exemption from payment of customs duty on the plea of the imports being referable to power project, the rejection would not come in the way of the respondent
