Foreign trade relief and composition fee dispute remanded for fresh adjudication after factual issues required reconsideration.

The dispute concerned the levy of composition fee and the refusal of relief under the Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedure, including waiver and extension of the export obligation period. The HC noted that the legality of the fee turned on the public notice and that the controversy involved factual inquiries and a mixed question of fact and law, making writ adjudication inappropriate. The order was therefore set aside and the matter remanded to the competent authority for fresh adjudication after hearing the petitioner.

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Issues: Whether the order levying composition fee and declining relief under the Foreign Trade Policy and the Handbook of Procedure was sustainable, and whether the matter required remand for fresh adjudication.

Analysis: The challenge centred on the asserted non-contemplation of composition fee in the relevant public notice and the claim of entitlement to waiver and extension of export obligation period under the foreign trade framework. The Court found that the dispute involved factual aspects requiring examination of records and a mixed question of fact and law, which could not be conclusively decided in writ jurisdiction. Since the legality of the composition fee itself was questioned on the basis of the public notice, the matter was considered fit for re-adjudication by the competent authority.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded for fresh adjudication by the competent authority after affording the petitioner an opportunity of hearing.

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