Court allows rectification of error in shipping bills for MEIS rewards

The court allowed the petitioner to rectify an inadvertent mistake in filing shipping bills for availing rewards under the MEIS scheme. The petitioner was granted the opportunity to request a No Objection Certificate from the Commissioner of Customs to correct the error and receive benefits. The Development Commissioner was involved in expeditiously considering the claim and issuing necessary orders. The writ petition was disposed of with directions for further proceedings, without imposing costs.

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Issues:
Challenge to rejection of request for availing rewards under MEIS scheme due to inadvertent mistake in filing shipping bills.

Analysis:
The petitioner, an exporter, had their shipping bills filed with an error in selecting intent for availing rewards under MEIS scheme. The mistake led to the system marking all items as 'No' instead of 'Yes,' impacting the benefits. Despite the error being discovered later, the Policy Relaxation Committee rejected the petitioner's request. The main contention was that the Director General of Foreign Trade lacked relevant material due to the system error, leading to non-forwarding of shipping bills. The Customs authority had not been approached by the petitioner. The court considered a similar case where the exporter was not held liable for an inadvertent mistake. The shift to an automated EDI system was noted, emphasizing the need to rectify errors. The petitioner was granted the opportunity to request the Commissioner of Customs for a No Objection Certificate to rectify the mistake and avail benefits under the MEIS scheme.

The court allowed the petitioner to approach the Commissioner of Customs to rectify the error and instructed NSDL to transmit relevant materials for consideration. The Development Commissioner was impleaded as a respondent due to the change in the competent authority. The Development Commissioner was tasked with expeditiously considering the petitioner's claim and issuing appropriate orders upon receiving the necessary documents. The writ petition was disposed of with directions for further proceedings, with no costs imposed.

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