Exporting company entitled to claim benefits under MEIS scheme despite technical error in shipping bills.

The court held that the petitioner, an exporting company, was entitled to claim benefits under the MEIS scheme despite a technical error in the shipping bills. The court set aside the notice rejecting the benefits, directed the respondents to amend the shipping bills, and instructed modifications in the online system for processing the application. The petitioner's petition was allowed, granting them the right to claim MEIS benefits with corrections to the technical error. No costs were awarded.

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Issues Involved:
1. Entitlement to claim benefits under the MEIS scheme.
2. Amendment of shipping bills to correct technical errors.
3. Procedural compliance and its impact on MEIS benefits.

Summary:

Issue 1: Entitlement to Claim Benefits Under the MEIS Scheme
The petitioner, a company engaged in exporting Hydrofluorocarbons, sought benefits under the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS). Due to an oversight by the petitioner's custom agent, the shipping bills were processed with the default option 'No' instead of 'Yes'. Consequently, the exports were not considered for export incentives. The petitioner argued that they were entitled to the benefits and had declared their intent to claim MEIS benefits in the shipping invoices.

Issue 2: Amendment of Shipping Bills to Correct Technical Errors
The petitioner approached the Deputy Commissioner (Exports) to amend the shipping bills filed in November 2016 by rectifying the reward column from 'No' to 'Yes'. Initially, the amendment was carried out for 7 out of 8 shipping bills, but it was later withdrawn. The petitioner was advised to approach the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for the issue. Despite multiple communications and reminders, the requests were not adhered to, prompting the petitioner to approach the Policy Regulation Committee (PRC) for a waiver of the procedural declaration of intent. The PRC rejected the complaint.

Issue 3: Procedural Compliance and Its Impact on MEIS Benefits
The respondents argued that the petitioner's failure to select 'Yes' in the reward column was a violation of the mandatory procedural requirement under the Handbook of Procedures 2015-2020. They contended that the manual amendment of shipping bills was not permissible and that the petitioner's non-compliance with the procedure justified the rejection of MEIS benefits. However, the court noted that the petitioner had clearly declared their intent to claim MEIS benefits in the shipping invoices, and the rejection was based on a mere technical lapse.

Court's Decision:
The court found the respondents' decision to be erroneous and held that the petitioner was entitled to claim benefits under the MEIS scheme. It set aside the notice dated 11.2.2020, quashed it, and directed the respondents to amend the shipping bills. The respondents were also instructed to allow modifications in the online system to enable the petitioner to correct the technical error and process the application to grant export incentives under the MEIS scheme.

Conclusion:
The petition was allowed, and the rule was made absolute to the extent of granting the petitioner the right to claim benefits under the MEIS scheme, with directions to amend the shipping bills and correct the technical error in the online system. No order as to costs was made.

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