Reasoned administrative orders required for Duty Free Import Authorisation transferability disputes; unsupported rejection was set aside and remanded.

Rejection of applications for transferability of Duty Free Import Authorisations under the Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedure was unsustainable because the orders did not address the petitioners' material legal contentions or give adequate reasons. In such a case, the administrative decision is liable to be set aside and the matter remanded for fresh consideration after giving the affected parties a hearing and passing a reasoned speaking order. The governing scheme requires compliance with the conditions for physical incorporation of inputs, declaration of technical characteristics, and fulfilment of export obligation before transferability is endorsed.

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Issues: Whether the rejection of the applications for transferability of the Duty Free Import Authorisations was sustainable in law and whether the matter required remand for fresh consideration by passing a reasoned order after hearing the petitioners.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the scheme of the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014 and the Handbook of Procedure Volume 1 2009-2014 governing Duty Free Import Authorisation, including the requirements for physical incorporation of inputs, declaration of technical characteristics and fulfilment of export obligation before transferability is endorsed. The impugned rejection orders were found to be deficient because they did not adequately deal with the petitioners' legal contentions and did not record sufficient reasons. In that situation, the appropriate course was to set aside the rejection and require the authority to reconsider the applications afresh after giving an opportunity of hearing and thereafter pass reasoned and speaking orders.

Conclusion: The rejection of the applications for transferability was not sustained and the matters were remanded to the authority concerned for fresh decision after hearing the petitioners.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an administrative rejection affecting entitlement under a trade policy is unsupported by sufficient reasons and does not deal with the material legal contentions, it is liable to be set aside and remanded for fresh consideration by a reasoned order after hearing the affected party.

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