High Court declares time limit for amending shipping bills under Customs Act illegal.

The High Court ruled in favor of the petitioner, holding that the time limit imposed by Circular No.36/2010-Customs for amending shipping bills under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962 was illegal. The Court quashed the communication rejecting the amendment application and directed the respondent to consider the request without a time limit. The judgment emphasized the primacy of statutory provisions over circulars in determining the legality of time limits for amendments under the Customs Act, 1962.

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Issues:
1. Amendment of shipping bills for inserting Advance Authorization details due to clerical error.
2. Conversion of shipping bills from Drawback Scheme to Advance Authorization Scheme.
3. Rejection of the amendment application by Respondent No.3 on the grounds of being time-barred.
4. Legality of Circular No.36/2010-Customs prescribing a three-month time period for amendment requests.
5. Quashing of the impugned communication and direction to consider the amendment application without time limit issue.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner sought relief to amend six shipping bills to insert Advance Authorization details due to a clerical error, which led to the details not being reflected in the shipping bills. The petitioner also requested the conversion of these bills from the Drawback Scheme to the Advance Authorization Scheme to claim adjustment of expenses towards export obligations. The application for amendment was made under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962.

2. Respondent No.3 rejected the amendment application citing that five of the six shipping bills were time-barred and that documentary evidence for the sixth bill was not produced. The Circular No.36/2010-Customs was relied upon by Respondent No.3, which prescribed a three-month time period for amendment requests. However, the High Court held that such a time limit could not be imposed as Section 149 of the Act did not specify any time period for amendments.

3. The Court emphasized that when the legislature did not prescribe a time limit for making a request for document amendments under Section 149 of the Act, the provision should not be restricted by imposing a time limit through circulars. Referring to a judgment of the Gujarat High Court, the High Court deemed the time limit prescribed in the circular as illegal and without jurisdiction.

4. Consequently, the High Court quashed the impugned communication dated 30th December 2021 and directed Respondent No.3 to consider the amendment application without raising the issue of time limit. A personal hearing was mandated to be provided to the petitioner before any order was passed, ensuring a fair opportunity to address any judicial pronouncements relied upon by Respondent No.3.

5. The High Court disposed of the petition with no order as to costs, clarifying that no view was expressed on the merits of the application. The judgment emphasized the importance of statutory provisions over circulars in determining the legality of time limits for amendment requests under the Customs Act, 1962.

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