Conversion of Free Shipping Bills to export scheme bills allowed where export records verify obligation discharge and no fraud is alleged

Free Shipping Bills may be converted into Export Promotion Scheme Shipping Bills where contemporaneous export documents, including ARE-1, establish the description and value of goods, the discharge of export obligation, and certification by Central Excise officers. The conversion cannot be refused merely because the shipping bills did not declare the scheme code, if the essential facts are verifiable from existing records and there is no allegation of fraud or manipulation. The text notes that the request satisfied the Board's circular and that rejection on the stated facts was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether Free Shipping Bills could be converted into Export Promotion Scheme Shipping Bills where the export documents, including ARE-1, showed the description and value of the goods, the export obligation, and certification by Central Excise officers, and where there was no allegation of fraud or manipulation.

Analysis: The ARE-1 forms contained the description and value of the goods and recorded that the exports were made towards discharge of export obligation under the Advance Licence scheme. The goods were cleared and exported under Central Excise supervision without physical examination by Customs, and the essential facts required by the Board's circular for conversion were verifiable from the existing export documents. The rejection order did not disclose any defect in compliance with the circular, nor was there any allegation of fraud or manipulation. The issue was also covered by the earlier Tribunal decision permitting conversion on similar facts.

Conclusion: The request for conversion satisfied the conditions of the Board's circular and was wrongly rejected.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and conversion of the Free Shipping Bills into Export Promotion Scheme Shipping Bills was directed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where export documents contemporaneously establish the nature of export, fulfilment of export obligation, and absence of fraud or manipulation, conversion of shipping bills from one export scheme to another cannot be denied merely for want of a declared scheme code in the shipping bills.

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