EPCG amendment requests must be decided on their own merits, without insisting on a no objection certificate during investigation.

An administrative authority cannot make consideration of an EPCG authorization amendment contingent on a no objection certificate from the investigating customs authority where the matter is still under investigation and no differential duty demand has been issued. The amendment request must be examined independently on its own merits under the governing scheme, without affecting the ongoing investigation. The applicant is also entitled to a personal hearing before the decision is taken. The investigating authority remains free to continue proceedings in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the third respondent could insist upon a no objection certificate from the investigating authority before considering the petitioner's request for amendment of the EPCG authorization, and whether the request had to be decided independently without affecting the ongoing investigation.

Analysis: The dispute concerned amendment of the ITC-HS code in the EPCG authorization pending investigation by the customs authority. No demand for differential duty had been issued and the matter remained under investigation. In those circumstances, the authority dealing with the EPCG authorization could not refuse to act merely because the investigating authority had not issued a no objection certificate. The request had to be examined on its own merits under the governing scheme, independently of the customs investigation, while leaving the investigation unaffected. The petitioner was also entitled to a personal hearing before a decision was taken.

Conclusion: The insistence on a no objection certificate was unwarranted. The third respondent was directed to decide the petitioner's amendment request independently on merits and in accordance with law, after granting a personal hearing, without hindering the ongoing investigation.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition was disposed of by requiring independent consideration of the amendment request, while preserving the investigating authority's liberty to proceed in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: An administrative authority cannot make consideration of a statutory or policy-based request contingent upon a no objection certificate from another authority when the latter is only conducting an investigation and has issued no adjudicated demand; the request must be decided independently on its own merits.

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