EPCG licence eligibility and concessional duty depend on valid export-performance criteria and a duly issued licence.

EPCG import licence and concessional customs duty were held unavailable where the importer did not satisfy the prescribed past export performance criteria. The policy allowed registered manufacturer-exporters with at least three years of regular exports to claim the facility, while the amended public notice permitted only merit-based consideration for other manufacturers. The document states that a deemed licence could not arise merely because goods were imported and cleared under interim directions, and export obligation benefits depended on a valid licence from the competent authority. In the absence of eligibility, Customs was entitled to recover full duty, and the request for regularisation was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to an EPCG import licence and concessional customs duty for capital goods despite not satisfying the prescribed past export performance criteria, and whether the rejection of the request for regularisation of imports called for interference.

Analysis: The facility under paragraph 197 of the Import and Export Policy was available to registered manufacturers-exporters who had been regularly exporting for not less than three years, though the amended public notice allowed consideration on merits for other manufacturers who did not fulfill the past three years' export performance criteria. The petitioner had not satisfied the eligibility conditions and could not claim a deemed licence or regularisation merely because the goods had been imported and cleared under interim directions. The export obligation and concessional duty benefit could arise only when a valid licence was issued by the competent authority, and in the absence of such eligibility the Customs authorities were entitled to recover the full duty.

Conclusion: The rejection of the request for EPCG licence was upheld and the writ petitions were dismissed.

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