2021 (12) TMI 389 - HC - Customs

Seeking amendment of shipping bill - Benefit of merchandise export from India Scheme (MEIS) - section 149 of Customs Act - HELD THAT - There is no substance in the defence raised by the respondent no.3. It appears that claims in cases where the exporters had omitted to tick Yes in the portal only for a period of 6 months from the date of introduction of scheme by virtue of circular issued by DGFT instruction was allowed. Therefore, amendment to bill is allowed to be carried out only for a limited period of 6 months from the date of introduction of the scheme. If shipping bills are perused in the column meant for description of the goods, the petitioners had clearly indicated their intention to avail the benefit of MEIS. However, it appears that there is technical lapse on the part of the exporters in not ticking a particular box in the web portal, more so, when there was sufficient indication in other details entered therein about the intention of the exporter to claim the rewards. Not only this, the Assistant Commissioner of Customs issued certificate of amendment by which reward item under shipping bills stands amended as mentioned in table 1 - it could not be amended in the EDI system as the EGM has been closed. It appears that exporter did not check the box concerned, to read Yes , whereas in the column meant for the description of the good he had clearly indicated his intention to avail the benefit of the export promotion scheme. The Customs House, in fact, issued certificate of amendment. Thus, denial of benefits only on such technical lapse on the part of exporter cannot be accepted, particularly, when there was sufficient indication from the other details pointing out exporters' intention to avail the benefit. It is necessary to direct the respondent to consider the claim of the petitioner for export benefit, afresh within a period of one month from the date of receipt of the copy of this judgment by granting due opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, if required - in order to overcome this technical flaw, the respondent nos.2 3 to take steps to develop a software so that amendment, if any required, can be facilitated.

Summary

Issues involved:
Claim for export benefits under the Merchandise Exports From India Scheme (MEIS) due to technical lapse in ticking the relevant box in the web portal while filing shipping bills.

Detailed Analysis:

Issue 1: Claim for MEIS benefits
The petitioner, a manufacturer and exporter of cashew kernels, sought to avail benefits under the MEIS scheme, which provides duty credits scrips to exporters. The petitioner exported goods under two shipping bills but failed to tick the box indicating the claim for MEIS benefits due to a default setting in the Electronic Data Interchanged (EDI) system. Despite intending to claim the benefits, the default setting was not corrected, leading to the shipping bills not being uploaded for consideration of rewards under MEIS.

Issue 2: Legal provisions and procedures
The Foreign Trade Policy outlines the entitlement under MEIS for exports of notified goods to specified markets. The procedure for claiming MEIS benefits, as per para 3.14 of the policy, requires a declaration of intent on shipping bills. The introduction of the EDI system made it mandatory to mark 'Yes' for claiming benefits under any reward scheme, including MEIS, in the shipping bills. The inability to correct documents post-EDI system introduction raised challenges in amending shipping bills for inadvertent mistakes.

Issue 3: Judicial precedents and arguments
The petitioner relied on the Annu Cashews case and a Kerala High Court judgment supporting the contention that inadvertent omissions in claiming MEIS benefits should not lead to denial of claims. The respondent opposed the petition, citing a public notice mandating 'Y' marking in EDI shipping bills and challenges in amending bills manually for MEIS benefits.

Issue 4: Court's analysis and decision
After considering the arguments, the Court found no substance in the respondent's defense. Referring to the Annu Cashews case, the Court highlighted the need to condone inadvertent omissions in claiming MEIS benefits, emphasizing the absence of discrimination based on the timing of claims. The Court directed the respondents to reconsider the petitioner's claim within a month, taking into account the amendment certificate issued by the Customs office.

Conclusion:
The Court directed a fresh consideration of the petitioner's claim for export benefits under MEIS, emphasizing the need to address technical flaws and develop software for facilitating amendments. The ruling aimed to rectify the denial of benefits due to a technical lapse in ticking the relevant box in the web portal while filing shipping bills, ensuring a fair opportunity for exporters to claim entitled benefits.