Duty Drawback & RoDTEP claim on post export with Free shipping Bill

[Niruban Chakravarthy]

Dear Experts,

We have exported a shipment under Free shipping bill in the year 2023. now can we convert the Free shipping bill into Duty Drawback & RoDTEP scheme under sec.149 of Customs Act 1962.

The Customs Location where the export was made is not registered with AD Code for claiming Export benefits then (in 2023), Our Customs Broker suggested export the shipment under Free SB mode, Since the order was most urgent, and we have very short time to ship the consignment, we did this without completing the AD code registration.

The Export was made under LUT.

please advise whether we are eligible or is this possible to claim.

[Sanjeev Agarwal]

Yes, in my view the claim is worth pursuing, particularly for Duty Drawback, although the position for RoDTEP is more fact-sensitive.

Under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962, a Shipping Bill can be amended after export, subject to the statutory requirement that the amendment is supported by documentary evidence which was in existence at the time of export. Hence, the fact that the 2023 shipment was initially filed as a Free Shipping Bill does not, by itself, permanently bar a subsequent claim.

For Duty Drawback, the position is relatively stronger. CBIC Circular No. 36/2010-Customs recognises conversion/processing of Free Shipping Bills for eligible drawback claims, subject to the prescribed conditions. The Circular's three-month period from LEO is a significant departmental objection, but there is judicial support for the proposition that Section 149 itself does not prescribe such a limitation and a circular cannot necessarily curtail the statutory power.

For RoDTEP, the case is more difficult because the exporter was required to make the relevant RoDTEP declaration in the Shipping Bill. If the original SB contains RODTEPN/no claim, Customs may object. Nevertheless, amendments for inadvertent omissions have been considered in judicial and departmental practice where contemporaneous documents establish eligibility and the omission was procedural.

The non-registration of the AD Code in 2023 is not, by itself, necessarily a substantive disqualification from Drawback/RoDTEP eligibility. It should instead be explained as the reason the urgent shipment was filed under Free SB, supported by contemporaneous correspondence with the Customs Broker, if available.

I would first obtain the complete 2023 Shipping Bill and verify: (i) RoDTEP declaration, (ii) HS code and applicable rates, (iii) examination report, (iv) EGM, (v) export value, and (vi) whether any other export incentive was claimed.

Conclusion: Duty Drawback appears reasonably defensible; RoDTEP is more litigation-prone but should not be dismissed without examining the actual Shipping Bill and contemporaneous documents. A properly supported Section 149 representation with alternative prayers for Drawback and RoDTEP would be the appropriate course.

AI Summary

Post-export Shipping Bill amendment may support Duty Drawback and RoDTEP claims where contemporaneous evidence establishes export-benefit eligibility.
Post-export amendment of a Free Shipping Bill under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962, may enable claims for Duty Drawback and RoDTEP if documentary evidence supporting eligibility existed at export. Duty Drawback has a comparatively stronger basis, despite possible objections based on departmental time limits. RoDTEP is more fact-sensitive because the relevant declaration should ordinarily appear in the Shipping Bill. Non-registration of an AD Code is not necessarily a substantive disqualification. The amendment request should be supported by the Shipping Bill, export records, incentive details, and contemporaneous evidence explaining the procedural omission.