2019 (6) TMI 693 - HC - Customs

Advance License Scheme - import of raw material under Advance License which are used in the manufacture the finished products, namely, Metallic Bellows, which were exported with the shipping bills in question - Section 149 of Customs Act - HELD THAT - The approach of the learned authorities below as well as the learned Tribunal has been narrow and pedantic. They could not take a hyper technical view in the matter and even though a provision like Section 149 of the Act allowed such subsequent documents to be placed on record by the exporter, they have been rejected without assigning proper reasons therefor. The Assessee could have been very well allowed to produce those documents and the validity and veracity of those documents could have been examined by the concerned authority and if the conditions of the Advanced licence were satisfied with the production of these documents, the authority concerned could have verified and could have allowed the requisite benefit to the Assessee. Matter remanded back to the concerned assessing authority, namely, Joint Commissioner of Customs for taking on record these documents and consider the case of the Asseessee afresh in accordance with law.

Summary

Issues:
Appeal against rejection of subsequently filed documents under Section 149 of the Act by the Joint Commissioner of Custom House Chennai for establishing fulfillment of conditions of Advance licence for importing raw material.

Analysis:
The Assessee, M/s. Metallic Bellows (I) Pvt., Ltd., filed an appeal against the rejection of subsequently filed documents by the Joint Commissioner of Custom House Chennai. The Tribunal rejected the appeal on the grounds that the authority was justified in not entertaining the documents under Section 149 of the Act. The Assessee sought to establish the fulfillment of conditions of the Advance licence under which raw material was imported to manufacture Metallic Bellows for export. The Tribunal upheld the rejection based on the Assessee's prior experience with similar exports under a different license and the issuance of redemption letters by the Foreign Trade Development Officer, which were not considered by the authorities.

The High Court criticized the narrow and pedantic approach of the lower authorities and the Tribunal. It noted that Section 149 of the Act allows for subsequent documents to be submitted by exporters, which should have been considered. The Court emphasized that the Assessee should have been given the opportunity to produce and verify the validity of the documents to establish compliance with the conditions of the Advance licence. The Court found the rejection of the documents without proper reasons to be unjustified.

As a result, the High Court allowed the appeal and remitted the matter back to the Joint Commissioner of Customs for reconsideration. The Assessee was directed to produce the documents within one month for the authority to evaluate them on merits and in accordance with the law. The Civil Miscellaneous Appeal was allowed without costs, and the connected Miscellaneous Petition was closed.