MEIS claims require corrected shipping bills first; writ relief cannot bypass the prescribed customs rectification process.

MEIS benefits could not be claimed on uncorrected shipping bills where the exporter had failed to mark the reward claim in the shipping bill data and had not first used the prescribed customs mechanism for amendment or rectification. The policy required the shipping bill declaration to reach the DGFT repository in the proper form before processing the incentive claim, and the unamended bills were treated as non-MEIS bills. Because the corrective route had not been pursued, writ relief was not available to bypass the procedure, and the rejection of the claim was upheld. The petition was dismissed, leaving the exporters to seek rectification first and then pursue the claim in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the petitioners could claim MEIS benefits despite not marking "Y" in the reward column of the shipping bills and without first seeking amendment or rectification of the shipping bills through the customs mechanism; and whether the writ petition could succeed against the DGFT rejection in these circumstances.

Analysis: The scheme required the exporter to indicate the reward claim in the shipping bills and the electronic shipping bill data had to reach the DGFT repository before a claim could be processed. The petitioners failed to mark the shipping bills appropriately, so the bills were treated as non-MEIS bills. The governing policy and procedure also provided a mechanism for amendment or correction of shipping bills through the customs authorities, followed by consideration of the claim in the prescribed manner. Since the petitioners had not pursued that corrective route, the DGFT could not grant the benefit on the basis of unamended shipping bills, and writ relief against the rejection was not warranted.

Conclusion: The claim for MEIS benefits was not maintainable on the uncorrected shipping bills, and the challenge to the DGFT rejection failed. The petitioners were required to first seek rectification of the shipping bills through the customs process.

Final Conclusion: The petition was dismissed, leaving the petitioners free to seek correction of the shipping bills from the customs authorities and then pursue the claim in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the relevant export shipping bills have not been amended in the prescribed manner, and the statutory policy provides a specific corrective mechanism before seeking substantive incentive benefits, writ relief will not be granted to bypass that mechanism.

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