Shipping bill conversion under the applicable circular must be decided by the jurisdictional Commissioner after considering later authorisation cancellation.

Conversion of shipping bills from the DFIA Scheme to the DEPB Scheme was required to be considered by the jurisdictional Commissioner under the applicable circular, since the power to permit conversion vested in that authority subject to prescribed conditions. The earlier rejection by the Authorized Officer and the appellate affirmation could not stand because the later cancellation of the DFIA authorisation was a relevant subsequent development that had not been examined by the authorities below. The matter was remanded for fresh adjudication by the competent authority after considering the circular, the cancellation letter, and granting the appellants an adequate opportunity of hearing.

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Issues: Whether the request for conversion of shipping bills from the DFIA Scheme to the DEPB Scheme was liable to be decided by the jurisdictional Commissioner in terms of the applicable circular, and whether the matter should be remanded for fresh decision after considering the cancellation of the DFIA authorization.

Analysis: The request for conversion had been rejected by the Authorized Officer and the rejection was affirmed in appeal, but the applicable circular vested power to permit such conversion in the jurisdictional Commissioner alone, subject to prescribed conditions. The cancellation of the DFIA authorization by the DGFT authorities, though issued later, was a relevant subsequent development that had not been before the authorities below. In these circumstances, the impugned orders could not stand and the matter required fresh consideration by the competent authority after taking the circular and the cancellation letter into account, with an adequate opportunity of hearing to the appellants.

Conclusion: The matter was remanded to the jurisdictional Commissioner for fresh adjudication, and the appeal was allowed by way of remand.

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