2007 (7) TMI 487

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.... enjoys DEPB benefits of 22% of FOB value. The department's case is that the appellants had fraudulently obtained transferable DEPB script from the DGFT by forged/substituted shipping bills/ invoices/packing list etc. The department detected modus operandi of the appellant from GR and copies of shipping bills filed with the banker and RBI by the exporters. Thereafter, the DGFT, Ludhiana, cancelled all the DEPB licences ab initio in terms of the provisions of Foreign Trade Development and Regulation Act, 1992. In view of this, the appellants were show caused proposing penal action and demanding duty from the importers. 2. Penalty was imposed by the authorities below on the ground that it has been proved beyond doubt that the appellan....

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....ocuments were verified by the Customs authorities and found to be genuine. As regards submitting two sets of documents, there is no evidence on record to this effect except the customs letter. Moreover, how a customs appraiser can accept, sign and verify the export on two shipping bills. It is not understood as to when the signature of the customs officer were found to be genuine, then how a document can be treated as forged. Therefore, I am not inclined to accept that the documents are forged and fabricated. So far as admissibility of DEPB rate is concerned, the doubt arose due to variation in description of exported product in other documents. Through the appellant firm claims that the DEPB rate on crank shaft is also 22% but I do not wan....

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....lated documents like Shipping bills invoices/packing lists etc. filed for export of 'Crank shaft for high speed compressor' with the same having mention of description of export item mis-declared as 'Timing Shafts for Mercedes Truck'. This fact came out from G. Rs. and other documents such as invoices, packing lists resumed from bankers of the exporter and Reserve Bank of India as well. During the relevant period, the DEPB rate applicable to export item Timing Shafts for Mercedes Truck was 22% of FOB value under Sr. No. 7l(i) of Product Group Engineering (Group Code 61) whereas on Crank Shafts it was 14% only under Sr. No. 291 of DEPB Schedule 1997-2002. On the basis of the forged/substituted documents the noticees No. 2 applied to th....