TBRE eligibility and customs duty refund follow where a temporary foreign resident re-exports duty-paid goods after arrival in India.

A foreign-based crew member who was normally resident abroad and came to India temporarily could be treated as a tourist for TBRE purposes, even though the foreign contract had ended, because the temporary arrival status and substance of the scheme were satisfied. Where the duty-paid goods were subsequently re-exported, the customs duty levied on those goods was treated as wrongly collected and refundable. Relief was, however, subject to verification of re-export by the Assistant Collector.

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Issues: Whether a foreign-based crew member temporarily arriving in India was entitled to TBRE facility and, on re-export of the duty-paid goods, to refund of the customs duty collected from him.

Analysis: The applicant was a person normally resident abroad who had come to India temporarily. The denial of TBRE facility merely because he had terminated his foreign contract was held to be unjustified. Since the goods were in fact re-exported, the requirement underlying TBRE stood complied with in substance, and the levy of customs duty on the imported items was treated as erroneous. The refusal of refund under Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962 did not survive in these circumstances.

Conclusion: The applicant was held entitled to TBRE facility and to refund of the full duty collected on the re-exported goods, subject to verification of re-export by the Assistant Collector.

Ratio Decidendi: A person normally resident abroad who comes to India temporarily may be treated as a tourist for TBRE purposes, and where the duty-paid goods are subsequently re-exported, the customs duty wrongly levied on them is refundable.

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