Export date under trade policy follows bill of lading; later mate receipt rule could not defeat accrued rights.

For sea exports under the then applicable import trade control policy, the operative date of export was the date of the bill of lading, not the mate receipt. A later public notice that made export date depend on the bill of lading or mate receipt, whichever was later, could not be applied retrospectively to defeat rights already accrued under the earlier policy. On that basis, rejection of the claim solely because the mate receipt bore an earlier date was unsustainable. The genuineness and dating of the shipping documents were left open for fresh consideration.

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Issues: Whether, for export of goods by sea under the relevant import trade control policy, the date of export was to be determined by the date of the bill of lading or by the date of the mate receipt, and whether the later amendment introducing the mate receipt criterion could be applied to exports already made.

Analysis: Under the policy then in force, the relevant date of export for sea shipments was the date on the bill of lading. The subsequent public notice of 14-1-1977 substituted a later rule by providing that the date of export would be the date of the bill of lading or the mate receipt, whichever was later. That amendment could not be used to defeat rights that had already accrued under the earlier policy. The rejection of the claim solely on the basis that the mate receipt date was 5-6-1976 was therefore unsustainable. The genuineness and dating of the bill of lading were not finally adjudicated and were left open for fresh consideration.

Conclusion: The relevant export date had to be determined by the date of the bill of lading under the unamended policy, and the petitioners could not be denied relief on the basis of the later amended rule; the impugned orders were quashed and the matter was remitted for fresh decision on the genuineness of the shipping documents.

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