The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word EXEMPTION
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
E
X
E
M
P
T
I
O
N
More clues leading to the result EXEMPTION
- Freedom of divorcee feeling without love but gaining power
- Immunity from the next poem I compose
- Exclusion of retina from clinical experimentation; yes, exclusion
- Immunity for English politician after former partner gets into trouble
- River by motorway — point out that will get discharge
- Blighted in pox, meet a kind of immunity
- Former European minister’s first point arranged immunity
- Former English politician — not I — running around for discharge
- Discharge under a river — master point, in a way
- Politician put in effort, right away, to obtain freedom
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "exclusion" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case exclusion = exemption.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does EXEMPTION mean?
EXEMPTION noun- An act of exempting.
- The state of being exempt; immunity.
- A deduction from the normal amount of taxes.
- Freedom from a defect or weakness.