Customs jurisdiction over deemed export drawback claims fails where the claim lies before DGFT, warranting fresh adjudication.

Customs jurisdiction to reject a drawback claim was lacking where the deemed export drawback claim had been filed before the DGFT under the Foreign Trade Policy and no claim was pending before Customs. On that jurisdictional basis, the rejection was unsustainable, and the matter was remanded for fresh adjudication after hearing the appellants.

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Issues: Whether the Commissioner of Customs had jurisdiction to decide and reject the drawback claim arising from deemed export when no drawback claim had been filed before the Customs authorities and the claim was pending before the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

Analysis: The dispute turned on jurisdiction. The claim for drawback was stated to have been made by the DTA supplier before the Directorate General of Foreign Trade under the Foreign Trade Policy, while no claim had been filed before the Customs authorities. In that situation, the rejection of the drawback claim by the Commissioner of Customs was held to be unsustainable. As the jurisdictional foundation itself was defective, the merits of the matter required reconsideration by the adjudicating authority after hearing the appellants.

Conclusion: The rejection of the drawback claim was set aside and the matter was remanded for fresh adjudication, in favour of the appellants.

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