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of <h1>Tribunal dismisses appeal challenging eligibility for FTA benefits based on Country of Origin Certificate criteria</h1> <h3>M/s. SHABEER ENTERPRISES Versus COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS [PORT-IMPORT], CHENNAI</h3> The Tribunal dismissed the appeal as it found no merit in the arguments presented by the appellant regarding the eligibility for availing FTA benefits and ... Free Trade Agreement [FTA] - goods imported from South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation [SAARC] countries - benefit of notification No.105/99-Cus. - rejection of benefit of notification on the ground that when the importer is claiming Special Origin Criteria under para 10 of the Schedule, letter “D” should have been mentioned in box 8 of the Country of Origin Certificate [COO]; whereas, the COO certificate submitted shows Origin Criteria as “B” 65.83%. HELD THAT:- As per the said notification in question, the imported goods should fulfill the Origin Criteria even in Notification No.73/95 (NT). As per which, the non-contracting party’s cost/materials involved in the imported goods should not exceed 60% of the F.O.B. value of the goods - Ld. advocate has contended that the said Tariff notification has been amended by Notification No.68/2000 (NT), dated 10.11.2000, whereby, the percentage limit of 60% has been increased to 70%. Even the Division Bench of the High Court of Kerala, in the case of Director-General of Foreign Trade, New Delhi Vs M/s. Mustafa Traders [ 2016 (9) TMI 669 - KERALA HIGH COURT ], has reiterated that DGFT had jurisdiction to issue notification under section 5 of the FTDR Act. Percentage content in respect of non-origin material - HELD THAT:- As per II (b)(3) of the Schedule to the Customs Notification No73/1995 (NT), dated 07.12.1995 when the importer is claiming Special Origin Criteria under para 10 of the said Schedule in the box 8 of the Country of Origin Certificate letter “D” should be entered. Whereas, the Country of Origin Certificate submitted by the importer shows Origin Criteria as “B” 65.83% - Therefore, the subject goods are not fulfilling the Origin Criteria as prescribed in the said notification and hence not eligible for the benefit of Customs Notification No.105/1999-Cus. Appeal dismissed. Issues:1. Eligibility for availing FTA Notification No.105/99-Cus.2. Interpretation of Country of Origin Certificate criteria.Issue 1: Eligibility for availing FTA Notification No.105/99-Cus.:The appellants filed a bill of entry for clearance of goods under CTH 08029019, claiming benefits under notification No.105/99-Cus. for goods imported from SAARC countries. The original authority rejected the benefit due to discrepancies in the Country of Origin Certificate. The Commissioner (Appeals) upheld the decision. The appellant contended that the goods should be eligible for the benefit based on the percentage content of non-origin country materials and amendments in tariff notifications. The Tribunal analyzed the amendments and previous judgments, concluding that the reliance on previous judgments did not support the appellant's case. The appeal was dismissed based on the findings.Issue 2: Interpretation of Country of Origin Certificate criteria:The dispute centered on the criteria mentioned in the Country of Origin Certificate for availing benefits under the FTA Notification. The appellant argued that the percentage content of non-origin material had been increased to 70% for goods originating in least developed contracting States like Bangladesh. However, the certificate submitted by the importer did not meet the specified criteria, leading to the goods not fulfilling the Origin Criteria as required by the notification. The Tribunal concurred with the lower authorities' findings, upholding the decision that the goods were not eligible for the benefit of Customs Notification No.105/1999-Cus. The appeal was dismissed based on this analysis.In conclusion, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal as it found no merit in the arguments presented by the appellant regarding the eligibility for availing FTA benefits and the interpretation of the Country of Origin Certificate criteria. The judgment provided a detailed analysis of the relevant tariff notifications, previous judgments, and the specific criteria required for availing the benefits under the FTA Notification.
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