2022 (12) TMI 1254 - HC - Customs

Court Orders Manual Correction of Shipping Bills for MEIS Benefits; Petitioner's Grievance Resolved

Jubilant Biosys Limited Versus Directorate General Of Foreign Trade & Ors.

The court directed customs to manually transmit corrected shipping bills to the DGFT server for processing MEIS benefits in an exceptional manner. The ... Seeking benefits of the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) in respect of 69 (sixty-nine) shipping bills pertaining to shipments made during the period 06.04.2018 to 31.05.2020 - submission of online declaration indicating that it would not avail the benefits of MEIS. In the online form, against the query whether it would avail benefits under the MEIS - It is the petitioner’s case that the Handbook of Procedure is the only procedural guide and would not disentitle the petitioner from availing the substantive benefits of MEIS in terms of the Foreign Trade Policy. HELD THAT:- This Court is informed that in compliance with the aforesaid order, a meeting of concerned officers was held on 08.12.2022. A copy of the minutes of the said meeting had been handed over to this Court - respondent no.4 shall transmit the corrected bills as decided in terms of paragraph no. 5 of the minutes, as stated above, within a period of two weeks from today. The petitioner’s claim for benefits under MEIS shall be decided within a period of six weeks thereafter. The petitioner’s grievance in the present petition stands addressed. No further orders are required to be passed in this petition - Petition disposed off. Issues:1. Denial of benefits under the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) due to an inadvertent error in online declaration.2. Permissibility of manual corrections in shipping bills under Foreign Trade Policy.3. Interpretation of Handbook of Procedure in relation to availing MEIS benefits.4. Resolution of petitioner's grievance through court intervention and meetings with relevant authorities.5. Decision on transmitting corrected bills and processing MEIS benefits.Analysis:1. The petitioner sought directions to allow MEIS benefits for 69 shipping bills made between 06.04.2018 to 31.05.2020, which were initially denied due to an inadvertent error in the online declaration indicating non-availment of MEIS benefits. The petitioner corrected the error manually, but online corrections were not permissible under the Foreign Trade Policy.2. The petitioner argued that the Handbook of Procedure should not disentitle them from availing MEIS benefits despite the manual corrections, as the Handbook requires online entries. A previous court order highlighted the denial of benefits due to the portal's inability to accept amendments in the shipping bills.3. In a subsequent meeting following the court order, it was decided that customs would transmit the corrected shipping bills manually to the DGFT server for processing MEIS benefits in an exceptional manner. Respondent no.4 was directed to transmit the corrected bills within two weeks, and the petitioner's claim for MEIS benefits was to be decided within six weeks thereafter.4. The court's intervention and the subsequent meetings with concerned authorities led to the resolution of the petitioner's grievance regarding MEIS benefits. The court disposed of the petition and all pending applications, as the petitioner's claim was addressed through the agreed-upon manual transmission of corrected bills for MEIS benefit processing.5. The decision to allow manual amendments and transmission of corrected bills for MEIS benefits showcased a practical approach to resolving the petitioner's issue, ensuring compliance with the Foreign Trade Policy while addressing the inadvertent error in the online declaration. The court's order facilitated a structured process for granting MEIS benefits based on the corrected shipping bills, emphasizing the importance of procedural compliance in availing trade benefits.