2013 (12) TMI 883 - AT - Customs

Amendment of shipping bill - Correction in advance License number - Held that - Under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962, the proper office has been given the discretion to authorize any document, after it has been presented in the Custom House to be amended. In the case of shipping bill, the amendment can be carried out even after the goods have been exported on the basis of evidence, which was in existence at the time the goods were exported - Thus, there appears no impediment in permitting the only amendment sought in the shipping bill i.e. of amending the Advance Licence number. The mere fact that the export invoices were not produced initially and was produced later does not debar the exporter from claiming the amendment of shipping bill. For amending the shipping bill, the only condition is that the document should have been in existence at the time the original exports were carried out. That is not disputed. Therefore, the respondent is rightly entitled for amendment of the shipping bill - Decided against Revenue.

Summary

Issues:
1. Condonation of delay in filing the appeal.
2. Amendment in shipping bill for correcting Advance Licence Number.
3. Interpretation of Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962 for amending shipping bills.

Condonation of Delay:
The appeal was filed by the Revenue against an Order-in-Appeal. The delay of 118 days in filing the appeal was attributed to the misplacement of the file, which took time to be traced. The application for condonation of delay was accepted as the reasons provided for the delay were deemed satisfactory, leading to the admission of the appeal.

Amendment in Shipping Bill:
The respondent sought to amend a shipping bill to correct the Advance Licence Number mentioned therein. The original licence had been closed by the DGFT, and the mistake was discovered during an internal audit. The request for amendment was initially rejected due to lack of documentary evidence. However, the lower appellate authority allowed the appeal, prompting the Revenue to file an appeal. The Revenue's sole ground was the absence of initial submission of invoices by the exporter. The respondent argued that under Section 149 of the Customs Act, an exporter can amend a shipping bill based on existing documentary evidence at the time of clearance. The Tribunal upheld the lower authority's decision, emphasizing that the relevant licence and invoices existed when the bill was filed, entitling the respondent to the amendment.

Interpretation of Section 149:
Section 149 of the Customs Act grants discretion to authorize document amendments post-presentation at the Custom House. The Tribunal clarified that amendments to shipping bills can be made even after goods are exported based on evidence existing at the time of export. The lower authority's finding that the necessary documents existed when the goods were exported was crucial. The Tribunal ruled that the absence of initial submission of export invoices did not prevent the amendment, as long as the relevant documents existed during the original export. Consequently, the Revenue's appeal was dismissed, affirming the respondent's entitlement to amend the shipping bill under Section 149.

This judgment highlights the importance of complying with procedural requirements for amending shipping bills under Section 149 of the Customs Act and emphasizes the significance of existing documentary evidence at the time of export for such amendments.