Duty credit scrip claims under the export incentive scheme cannot be refused solely for exceeding the annual benchmark.

Claim for duty credit scrips under the Incremental Export Incentivisation Scheme could not be rejected merely because the amount claimed exceeded the Rs. 1 crore benchmark for the relevant financial year. The Delhi High Court applied the earlier Division Bench ruling and held that the authority had to examine the application with greater scrutiny under the relevant Foreign Trade Policy paragraphs and pass a reasoned order. The rejection order and the appellate rejection were therefore unsustainable. The matter was remitted for fresh consideration, with liberty to call for additional documents, and the claim was not granted outright.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner's claim for duty credit scrips under the Incremental Export Incentivisation Scheme could be rejected or capped at Rs. 1 crore, and whether the matter had to be re-examined with greater scrutiny.

Analysis: The claim was held to be governed by the earlier Division Bench decision which had already ruled that the application could not be rejected merely because the amount claimed exceeded Rs. 1 crore for the relevant financial year. The authority was, however, required to undertake greater scrutiny in terms of the applicable paragraphs of the Foreign Trade Policy before passing a reasoned order. In that view, the impugned rejection order and the appellate rejection were unsustainable and the respondents were directed to reconsider the claim, with liberty to call for further documents.

Conclusion: The petitioner succeeded in getting the rejection orders set aside, but the claim was remitted for fresh examination and was not granted outright.

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