2019 (12) TMI 801 - HC - Customs

Benefit of MEIS Scheme - case of the Petitioner is that MEIS is an incentive which is provided to exporters in order to compensate them for higher freight charges and labour costs - petition was unable to upload shipping bills for the exports - HELD THAT - Insofar as the three shipping bills which according to the Petitioner ought to have been re-transmitted are concerned, the proof of submission of the same contemporaneously would be furnished to the Respondent No.3. After verification of the same, if the Respondent No.3 has any objections in respect of the three shipping bills, the same shall be communicated to the Petitioner and the issues in respect of the three shipping bills shall also be resolved. The 40 shipping bills which have now been re-transmitted shall now be processed by Respondent No.2 i.e. DGFT in order to permit the Petitioner to avail of the benefits under the MEIS. If the three shipping bills are retransmitted after satisfying the Customs Authorities on the ICEGATE platform, then the said shipping bills would also be processed for extending of the MEIS benefit in respect thereof. Petition allowed.

Summary

Issues:
Petitioner's entitlement to MEIS benefits for 43 shipping bills; Failure to upload shipping bills on DGFT system; Delay in resolving issues; Relief sought in the petition.

Analysis:
The petitioner, an exporter of agrochemicals, filed a petition against DGFT and Commissioner of Customs/Union of India, claiming entitlement to MEIS benefits for 43 shipping bills. MEIS is an incentive compensating exporters for higher costs. The petitioner faced difficulties uploading the shipping bills on the DGFT system for exports during 2015-16. Despite contacting ICEGATE, issues persisted, leading to the writ petition. The prayers included immediate uploading of correct data, extension of MEIS application time, and other necessary orders.

During the proceedings, it was revealed that 39 out of 43 shipping bills had been uploaded. An affidavit presented by the Commissioner of Customs stated that most issues had been resolved. The transmission of shipping bills from customs to DGFT is mostly automatic, with manual intervention in rare cases. Connectivity issues or IT glitches may cause delays. The affidavit confirmed re-transmission of 40 shipping bills, resolving the petitioner's main grievance. Only three shipping bills remained unresolved.

The technical glitch causing non-submission of shipping bills online was addressed, and 40 bills were re-transmitted to ICEGATE. The remaining three bills were to be submitted with proof for verification. Once verified, if no objections arose, MEIS benefits would be processed. The court directed the DGFT to process the re-transmitted bills for MEIS benefits and resolve any remaining issues. With these directions, the petitioner's grievance was resolved, and the petition was allowed with no costs, disposing of all pending applications.