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TMI Blog2024 (11) TMI 808X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ustoms Act. In any event, the DGFT and its officials were not justified in refusing to consider the amendments finally carried out electronically on the specious plea that the DGFT portal or the DGFT systems could not handle such situations. Artificial intelligence cannot be at the cost of mortgaging human intelligence entirely. Technology is to serve the people and not to place booby traps and make life extremely difficult for the people. It is otherwise. If there are some gaps in the existing handling systems, bona fide parties cannot be made to suffer. The human element endowed with discretion and reason must step in. The officials operating such systems, or the officials tasked with implementing the law and the Government schemes, cannot abdicate responsibility, raise their hands, deny legitimate relief or make parties run from pillar to post and ultimately the Courts to get their dues. The officials who handle technology must deal with matters with the sensitivity and intelligence that the situation requires. At no stage did we hear any argument that the Petitioner was disentitled to the MEIS scrips on merits or for any reason other than the DGFT s handling electronic systems ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... returnable immediately at the request of and with the consent of the learned counsel for the parties. 3. The Petitioner seeks an appropriate writ to direct the second and third Respondents to (i) forthwith accept the amendment made in three shipping bills vide amendment certificates dated 17 October 2019 and flag Y appearing on ICEGATE under the head REWARD against the said three shipping bills and (ii) issue and grant MEIS Scrips amounting to Rs. 1,61,34,190.00 to the Petitioner. 4. The above relief is sought in the context of three shipping bills for export of goods filed by the Petitioner between 23 August 2017 to 22 December 2018. In these shipping bills, the Petitioner, the Petitioner s Customs brokers inadvertently declared the Petitioner did not intend to claim the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme ( MEIS ) benefit by indicating the letter N instead of Y in the relevant digital REWARD column. 5. By Notification dated 1 April 2015, the MEIS scheme was introduced, which seeks to promote the export of notified goods manufactured/produced in India and provide exporters rewards to offset infrastructural inefficiencies and associated costs. The Petitioner claims that there is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssed its inability to accede to the Petitioner s request because the system was not tuned to deal with this type of situation. 11. The Petitioner, by communication dated 28 October 2021, approached the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) to issue necessary directions and make essential systemic changes so that parties like the Petitioner do not suffer. Since there was no response, the Petitioner, by application dated 10 December 2021, approached the second Respondent and requested approval of the manual applications for the issue of MEIS Scrips. By application dated 18 July 2022, the Petitioner also approached the Directorate General of Systems and Data Management ( DG Systems ) to inform them about the problems faced and request a solution. 12. On 11 April 2023, Public Notice No.30 of 2023 was issued by the Commissioner of Customs JNCH notifying, among other things, that the amended shipping bills shall be transmitted to the DGFT server from ICEGATE without any change in the self-declaration of the exporter and the system of DGFT shall accept such record even with the noting N for grant of benefit under the MEIS scheme. This Public Notice is at Exhibit P (page 116 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e apparent lacuna in the existing procedure regards dealing with shipping bills amended by the Customs Department under Section 149 of the Customs Act. This Court noted that because of the apparent disconnect between the Customs Department and the DGFT, the legitimate claims or exports were stifled. The Court also noted that the systems needed to be updated, and electronic solutions needed to be found to tide over these types of situations. Accordingly, directions were issued to the Customs Department and the DGFT to take the necessary steps to sort out such issues. 17. The observations in paragraphs 20 to 24 of the order dated 13 January 2023 are relevant and transcribed below for the convenience of reference. 20. There appears to be a clear lacuna in the existing procedure as it emerged before us as to how to deal with shipping bills amended by the Customs Department under section 149 of the Act. DGFT has taken a stand that it has to go by the shipping bills transmitted online as per the procedure referred to aforesaid, and it has no methodology to deal with the amended shipping bills. The Customs Department has taken a completely non-committal stand. The only statement in the af ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... take necessary steps within four weeks from the date order is uploaded. 24. Respondent-Customs and Respondent-DGFT will file an affidavit placing on record steps taken by them regarding the provision to submit amended shipping bills to the DGFT. The Petition be listed on board under the caption For Directions on 27 February 2023 for reporting compliance on this aspect. 18. Based upon the above directions, the Directorate General of Systems and Data Management (CBIC) issued Advisory No.7 of 2023. This advisory refers to various references received regarding the post-EGM amendment of shipping bills, where the customs authorities allowed the amendment of shipping bills under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962, after filing the EGM. 19. This Advisory states that the same is issued to handle the post-EGM amendment of MEIS scheme shipping bill cases since discontinued from January 2021. Clause 4 of this Advisory states that in the MEIS scheme, the exporter declares whether he wants to claim the benefit or not at item level in the shipping bill and the same is entered in the form of Y and N under the reward flag to show Yes or No . In case of Y flag, the details of the shipping bills ar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... directions in Technocraft Industries (India) Limited (supra) were to all the necessary departments of the Union of India to develop a comprehensive solution to deal with such issues. 22. The Advisory dated 11 April 2023, at least we largely thought, took care of the situation or predicament the Petitioner has found itself. Still, the Petitioner's predicament continues because of no corresponding changes in the handling systems. This must be the fate of several other parties in a similar predicament. Therefore, if the Union of India is indeed serious about its slogans of ease of doing business or leveraging technology for serving taxpayers, then the parties must not be forced to approach the Courts of law to sort out such technical issues which the Union of India could very quickly sort out with the immense resources at its command. 23. Accordingly, we are satisfied that the DGFT and its officials were not justified in refusing to consider the manually corrected shipping bills, particularly after the Customs Authorities allowed them to be amended by exercising their powers under Section 149 of the Customs Act. In any event, the DGFT and its officials were not justified in refusi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng the law. If such an approach continues, the claims of leveraging technology to serve the people or ease of doing business will remain paper slogans. 27. For all the above reasons, we direct the second and third Respondents to process Petitioner s application for the release of MEIS Scrips and, if the Petitioner is found eligible for the issue of such MEIS Scrips, to release the same within 15 days from today. We clarify that the second and third Respondents shall not, again, hold the Petitioner ineligible on the ground that its systems are not geared up to fully take cognisance of the manual amendments to the shipping bills or on account of any other systemic or technical issues in the DGFT s portals and system. 28. The above exercise must be completed within 15 days from today, particularly since Mr Ochani, learned counsel for the Customs, states that the amended shipping bill has already been electronically transmitted to the DGFT Authorities. In any event, we clarify that the release of MEIS Scrips should not be withheld because of a lack of coordination between the Customs and DGFT Authorities. For this purpose, the DGFT Authorities must take cognisance of the petitioner' ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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