9911796707
TMI Blog2023 (6) TMI 552X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the Petitioner's favour MEIS Scrips for a value aggregating to Rs.1,04,00,455/- for exports made under 175 shipping bills listed to certificate dated 17.11.2021 issued by the Specified Officer-respondent No.3 herein; (b) Strike down para 3.04A inserted in Foreign Trade Policy vide Notification No.30/2015-2-2- dated 1st September, 2020 as ultra-vires Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India, and also striking down this Notification No.30/2015-2-2- issued by the DGFT on behalf of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, as ultra vires Articles 14 and 19(1) (g) of the Constitution (c) To hold and declare that the petitioners were entitled to MEIS benefit for the exports made by them during 1.9.2020 to 31.12.2020 without any ceiling and cap of Rs.2 crores of MEIS benefits; (d) To direct the respondents, particularly Respondent No.2 herein, to sanction and pay to the Petitioner MEIS benefit aggregating to Rs.2,75,53,475/- for the exports made during September, 2020 to December, 2020; (e) To direct the respondents, particularly respondent No.2, to sanction and pay to the petitioner interest at the rate of 9% on MEIS benefits accrued in the petiti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ove. It was further stated by the petitioner that 175 shipping bills and manual Let Export Orders made in its case were uploaded in the system only during September and October 2020. The petitioner stated that he was entitled to claim MEIS benefit of Rs. 1,04,00,455/- in respect of such export orders under 175 shipping bills. 3.3 During the period from September to December 2020, the petitioner exported goods for which MEIS benefit of 2% of Free-on-Board (FOB) value aggregating to Rs. 4,76,33,886/- was admissible. However, there was ceiling of Rs. 2 crores as per the aforesaid Notification No.30/2015. Therefore, the petitioner was deprived of MEIS benefit to the tune of Rs. 2,75,53,475/- in respect of the export actually made during the said four months from September 2020 to December 2020. 3.4 The submission of the petitioner is that since the export orders made on 175 shipping bills for export made during July 2020 and August 2020 came to be uploaded in the aforesaid circumstances, on Customs EDI System, only dinrg the month of September 2020 and October 2020, such exports were considered by the office of Director General of Foreign Trade as exports made during September and Oc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ustodians of the shipping bills and which is regulated under their Policies and Provisions, the answering respondents do not have any control upon the LEO date entered in the shipping bills by the Customs officers or specified officer at the SEZ. It is the claim of the firm that certain shipping bills were entered in the online portal of the answering respondent with LEO date between September to December 2020, though they were exported in the month of July and August 2020. 4.1.1 It was further stated in the said affidavit, "It is submitted that the applicants could have approached the DGFT for resolution of the issue. Now on the shipments which have actually been made in Sept to Dec 2020, MEIS entitlement was capped at 2 Cr for the reasons as explicitly mentioned in the above paras because of which the petitioner becomes ineligible for any benefits under MEIS over and above the cap of Rs 2 cr." 4.1.2 The respondents finally stated that the issue involved was technical only and that there was no need for the petitioner to raise any grievance before this Court, and that the petitioner could have approached the Director General of Foreign Trade under paragraph 2.58 of the Foreign ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tem. 5.1 It appears that by Notification dated 01.09.2020, the cap of Rs.2 crores was introduced in respect of the benefit under the Scheme. It is to be recollected that the petitioners Export Orders manually registered with the competent authorities were for the period during July and August 2020. 5.2 For non-grant of MEIS export benefit, a technical reason is put forth that the details of such exports were entered in the portal of the Director General of Foreign Trade in the month of September 2020 and October 2020 by the jurisdictional Customs officer. 5.3 The Customs officer in-charge of the Special Economic Zone operations has also certified that the exports were actually made during July 2020 and August 2020, but the benefit of export was denied as the export orders were entered late in the DGFT Portal. As stated, the reason was that the normal functioning of the officers was paralyzed on account of Covid-19 Pandemic till September 2020. 5.4 Therefore, the respondents does not dispute the entitlement of the petitioner for grant of MEIS benefit. The entire tenor of the affidavit is that under para 2.58 of the Foreign Trade Policy, the relief of the petitioner could be gran ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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