Bank guarantee waiver under EPCG scheme became infructuous after clearance, leaving no effective relief in appeal.

A revenue challenge to waiver of bank guarantee under the EPCG scheme had no practical relief left because the imported goods had already been cleared long earlier. The bank guarantee requirement was meant to operate before clearance, and the dispute had spent itself by the time the appeal was heard. The text also notes that any exemption granted under the scheme could in any event be withdrawn upon default in export obligation. On those facts, the appeal was treated as infructuous and did not survive.

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Issues: Whether the revenue appeal challenging waiver of bank guarantee under the EPCG scheme survived after the imported goods had already been cleared and a long period had elapsed.

Analysis: The exemption from furnishing bank guarantee was sought under Circular No. 71/98, and the department's case was that the waiver allowed by the appellate authority was not justified. However, the goods had been cleared long back, and the requirement of bank guarantee was meant to operate before clearance. In the circumstances, the practical purpose of the dispute had already been spent, and the record indicated that the exemption could in any event be withdrawn on default in export obligation under the scheme. Since the clearance had taken place years earlier, no effective relief remained to be granted in the appeal.

Conclusion: The appeal had become infructuous and did not survive.

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