DEPB to drawback conversion upheld where exports were cleared without objection and later departmental delay could not defeat the claim.

Conversion of shipping bills from the DEPB scheme to the drawback scheme was treated as permissible where exports had already been processed without objection and the later objection arose only during DEPB verification. Rule 12(1)(a) of the Customs and Central Excise Drawback Rules, 1995 allows the Commissioner of Customs to relax strict compliance where non-compliance occurred for reasons beyond the exporter's control. On the record, no failure by the exporter to meet the relevant requirements was shown, and departmental delay in deciding the request could not defeat the claim. Conversion to drawback was therefore allowed.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to conversion of the shipping bills from the DEPB scheme to the drawback scheme under the drawback rules.

Analysis: The exports were made under the DEPB scheme and no objection was raised at the time of export. The objection arose only later at the stage of DEPB verification, after which the appellant sought conversion to drawback. Rule 12(1)(a) of the Customs and Central Excise Drawback Rules, 1995 empowers the Commissioner of Customs to exempt an exporter from strict compliance where non-compliance occurred for reasons beyond control. The record did not show any failure on the appellant's part to comply with the relevant requirements, and the shipping bills had already been processed without objection. The long departmental delay in deciding the request could not be used to defeat the appellant's claim.

Conclusion: The conversion from DEPB to drawback was permissible and was allowed in favour of the appellant.

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