Shipping Bill conversion allowed where documentary evidence supports amendment and lack of physical examination was not importer's fault.

Section 149 of the Customs Act permits amendment of Shipping Bills on the basis of documentary evidence, and the conversion circulars allow conversion between export promotion schemes where the prescribed verification conditions are met. The absence of physical examination under the EPCG scheme was not treated as an absolute bar because the importer was not responsible for the non-examination, contemporaneous supporting documents were available, and the department showed no statutory disqualification or prejudice. The rejection was therefore set aside and conversion was allowed.

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Issues: (i) Whether Shipping Bills could be amended or converted under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962 and the applicable circulars despite the absence of physical examination under the EPCG scheme; (ii) Whether the absence of such examination was a valid ground to deny relief when the importer was not responsible for the non-examination and contemporaneous supporting materials were available.

Issue (i): Whether Shipping Bills could be amended or converted under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962 and the applicable circulars despite the absence of physical examination under the EPCG scheme.

Analysis: Section 149 permits amendment on the basis of documentary evidence, and the circulars governing conversion of Shipping Bills between export promotion schemes allow such conversion subject to the prescribed verification requirements. The decisive consideration was whether the claimant satisfied the substantive conditions for conversion, not whether the Shipping Bills were originally filed under the EPCG scheme. The absence of an EPCG-specific scrutiny report was not treated as an absolute bar where the record contained supporting materials and the department did not establish any failure on the part of the claimant to meet the circular requirements.

Conclusion: The Shipping Bills were eligible for consideration for conversion and the request could not be rejected merely on the ground that they were not originally examined under the EPCG scheme.

Issue (ii): Whether the absence of such examination was a valid ground to deny relief when the importer was not responsible for the non-examination and contemporaneous supporting materials were available.

Analysis: The non-examination arose from the selection mechanism of the Customs risk management system and was not attributable to the claimant. A procedural omission caused by the customs examination process could not defeat a bona fide request when the claimant had furnished contemporaneous evidence, the supporting manufacturer had endorsed the shipping documents, and the revenue did not show prejudice or any statutory disqualification. Procedural requirements were therefore treated as directory in this context and not as a basis to deny substantive relief.

Conclusion: The denial of conversion on the ground of non-examination was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The impugned rejection was set aside and the conversion claim succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: Conversion or amendment of Shipping Bills cannot be denied solely because the goods were not physically examined under the original export scheme, where the claimant is not at fault and contemporaneous documentary evidence otherwise supports the requested amendment.

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