Served From India Scheme eligibility upheld for eligible service providers, with equivalent duty free scrips ordered instead of refund.

The Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009 Served From India Scheme applied to all eligible service providers, and Indian companies were not excluded merely because they were subsidiaries of foreign entities. On that interpretation, the petitioners' entitlement to the restored benefit was accepted, as the earlier rejection had ignored the relevant policy and there was no effective dispute on eligibility. However, refund of customs duty already paid was declined; the proper relief was reissuance of transferable duty free scrips of equivalent value.

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Issues: Whether the petitioners were entitled to benefit under the Served From India Scheme for licences issued under the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009, and whether the respondents could refuse or recall those benefits.

Analysis: The relevant policy provision under the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009 applied to "all service providers" meeting the eligibility criteria. That expression was held not to exclude Indian companies merely because they were subsidiaries of foreign entities. The earlier writ decision had already held that the petitioners' claim under the 2004-2009 Policy had been wrongly rejected without considering the relevant policy. Since the controversy concerning the 2009-2014 Policy did not govern the present claim, and there was no counter-affidavit or effective dispute on entitlement, the petitioners' right to the restored benefit stood established. However, the request for refund of customs duty already paid was declined, and the appropriate relief was reissuance of transferable duty free scrips of equivalent value.

Conclusion: The petitioners were entitled to the Served From India Scheme benefit under the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009, and the respondents were directed to reissue equivalent duty free scrips; the refund claim was rejected.

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