2024 (6) TMI 1012 - AT - Customs

Rectification of mistake in the Bills of Export - conversion of Free Shipping Bills to Export Promotion Shipping Bills - Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962 - HELD THAT - Perusing some of the Bills of Export and Invoices, it is clear that the Appellant has mentioned the Advance License details in the Invoices and Packing lists. Due to inadvertent error, the Advance License details were not shown in the Bills of Exports. Therefore, the Commissioner (Appeals) vide his OIA dated 16/3/2011 has correctly held that is a matter of rectification of error which is permissible under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962. It is also observed that the Committee of Commissioner has reviewed and approved this OIA and no further Appeal was filed. The Appellant has shown the details of Advance License numbers in their Invoices and Packing list which are part of the Export documents. Their only mistake was not to have given the details of Advance Licenses in the Bills of Export (Shipping Bills). Amending the Shipping Bills/Bills of Export by adding the Advance Licence numbers after proper verification of the document would only be a minor rectification and would not be in the nature of amendment. The Tribunals and High Courts have been consistently holding that under Section 149, the proper officer has the power to carry out the amendment based on the documents which are available at the time of imports/exports. In this case, there is no doubt that such documents were available at the time of export itself and such Invoices and packing list were part of the documents while the goods were cleared to Nepal. The Revenue has resorted to an indirect method to Review its decision and pursue the matter with utmost zeal, which has resulted in the issue coming before the Tribunal twice in a span of 10 years. The Commissioner (Appeals) in the impugned Order has simply ignored the factual details and two detailed Orders of her predecessors and the earlier Review Order and has felt it necessary to simply toe the line of the Revenue - Without doubt, all these actions have resulted in loss of precious time by the Tribunal, which could have easily been avoided. This also has resulted in the Appellant being put to enormous difficulty since they were not able to obtain closure reports for the Advance Licences from the DGFT though they have fulfilled the export obligations about 14 years back. The impugned order is set aside - appeal allowed.

Summary

Issues Involved:

1. Rectification of Bills of Export under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962.
2. Conversion of Free Shipping Bills to Export Promotion Shipping Bills.
3. Review and Appeal process by the Revenue Department.

Summary:

Issue 1: Rectification of Bills of Export under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962

The Appellant exported 44 consignments of Calcium Carbonate to Nepal under Bond with Advance Licences but failed to mention the Advance Licence numbers in the Bills of Export due to an error by their CHA. The Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Guwahati, denied their request for rectification, considering it as conversion of Free Shipping Bills to Export Promotion Shipping Bills. The Commissioner (Appeals) initially allowed the rectification under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962, recognizing it as an inadvertent omission. This decision was not appealed further by the Committee of Commissioners, leading the Adjudicating Authority to permit the necessary corrections.

Issue 2: Conversion of Free Shipping Bills to Export Promotion Shipping Bills

Despite the initial acceptance, the Revenue filed an appeal against the rectification, arguing that only the Commissioner is authorized to convert Free Shipping Bills to Export Promotion Shipping Bills. The Tribunal remanded the matter, emphasizing that the principles of natural justice were not followed. Upon remand, the Commissioner (Appeals) held that conversion was not permitted, prompting the Appellant to approach the Tribunal again. The Tribunal noted that the rectification was a minor technical error permissible under Section 149 and that the issue had reached finality with the initial acceptance by the Committee of Commissioners.

Issue 3: Review and Appeal process by the Revenue Department

The Tribunal criticized the Revenue for indirectly pursuing an appeal after the initial decision not to appeal further, which amounted to overriding the earlier review decision. The Tribunal cited precedents where subsequent reviews after acceptance of an order were deemed unjustified. The Tribunal concluded that the Revenue's actions were legally incorrect and resulted in unnecessary prolonged litigation, causing significant inconvenience to the Appellant.

Conclusion:

The Tribunal set aside the impugned order, upheld the rectification of the Bills of Export, and allowed the appeal with consequential relief. The Tribunal expressed strong displeasure at the Revenue's handling of the case, emphasizing the waste of judicial time and the undue hardship caused to the Appellant.