2023 (10) TMI 1050 - HC - Customs

Permission to export of non-basmati rice - refusal to grant permission to export the consignment on the ground that the petitioner has not handed over the consignments to the customs on or before 20th July 2023 since on the earlier occasion vide letter dated 22nd July 2023, the petitioner requested for offloading the consignments under the shipping bills and the said request was accepted by the respondents. HELD THAT - In the instant case, there is no dispute that the export duty with respect to shipping bill under consideration has been paid by the petitioner on 19th July 2023 and, therefore, new condition specified in Notification No. 29/2023 is satisfied. This read with Trade Notice No. 23/2023 which clarifies that each of the conditions is an independent and export is allowed in case of satisfaction of any one of the conditions, the petitioner would be entitled to export the goods as per Notification No. 29/2023. Admittedly, the export duty was paid on 19th July 2023 has not been refunded till today. The petitioner became entitled to export the consignment under the clarificatory notification dated 29th August 2023 when it provided for export on payment of export duty on or before 20th July 2023 which undisputedly has been paid by the petitioner. There appears to be no dispute that the petitioner clearly falls in this category which was added by the clarificatory notification dated 29th August 2023. The respondents themselves have allowed the export of other consignment only on the ground of payment of export duty without goods having been handed over to the Customs and that too under clarificatory notification. Therefore, there cannot be different yardstick to be adopted by the respondents with respect to different shipping bills of the very same petitioner. Hence there can be no question of the petitioner being denied the permission to export the consignment under Shipping Bill Nos. 2465780 and 2486893. The respondents are directed to permit the export of non-basmati rice under Shipping Bill Nos. 2465780 dated 14.07.2023 and 2486893 dated 15.07.2023 before 30th October 2023 - Appeal disposed off.

Summary

Issues:
The issues involved in the judgment are related to the export of non-basmati rice under specific shipping bills, the payment of export duty, and the conditions specified in the relevant notifications.

Summary:

Issue 1: Export of Non-Basmati Rice
The petitioner filed shipping bills for the export of non-basmati rice on specific dates and paid the export duty accordingly. However, permission to export the consignments was initially denied by the respondents, leading to a request for refund of the export duty. Subsequently, amendments were made to the export policy of non-basmati rice, extending the period for export and specifying conditions to be met. The petitioner then requested to export the consignments under the amended notification, which was initially refused by the respondents.

Issue 2: Conditions for Export
The respondents argued that the petitioner was not eligible for export as they had withdrawn the consignments under the shipping bills and requested a refund of the export duty. They contended that the consignments were not handed over to customs before the specified date. However, the petitioner argued that they had paid the export duty before the deadline, satisfying one of the conditions for export. The respondents had allowed the export of another consignment of the petitioner based on the payment of export duty, even though the goods were not handed over to customs before the deadline.

Issue 3: Interpretation of Notifications
The court analyzed the conditions specified in the notifications and a trade notice, clarifying that the conditions were independent of each other, and export was allowed if any one of the conditions was satisfied. The court noted that the petitioner had paid the export duty before the deadline, as required by the amended notification, and therefore, should be allowed to export the consignments under the specified shipping bills.

Decision:
The court held that the petitioner met the conditions for export as per the amended notification and directed the respondents to permit the export of non-basmati rice under the specific shipping bills before the extended deadline. The court emphasized that the conditions were independent, and the payment of export duty sufficed for eligibility for export. The judgment was disposed of with no costs, and the parties were instructed to act on the order accordingly.