TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (7) TMI 455
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....by it in the circumstances of the case?" 4. The facts on record show that the respondent/assessee was a registered Export Oriented Unit (EOU). On 04.03.2008 it applied for obtaining of the no objection certificate and claimed that no tax liability existed on that day. It, therefore, sought to be converted into a Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) Unit. On 18.03.2008, the Revenue granted the "No objection Certificate" to enable the conversions sought and on 31.03.2008 the actual debonding took place. Thereafter, on 07.05.2008, the respondent/assessee sought for amendment of four shipping bills in respect of consignments exported on 07.03.2008, 11.03.2008 and 13.03.2008. It was contended that this was essential for it to claim benefits under DTA S....
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....: "As regards permitting conversion of free shipping bills into Advance Lience/DEPB/DFRC shipping bills is concerned, it is true over a period of time, with liberalization having been ushered in the Customs administration, clearance of goods is being permitted mostly on the basis of self-declaration made by the exporters on the shipping bills. Such self-assesment scheme necessarily casts the responsibility on the exporters to make up his mind at the time of filing shipping bills as to which export promotion incentive he likes to avail. With the introduction of the system of on-line assessment, such request for conversion at a later date creates difficulties and it is not advisable to encourage such conversion. It is, therefore, clarif....
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....ich reads as follows:- "(e) Unit proposing to exit out of EOU scheme shall intimate DC and Customs and Central Excise authorities in writing. Unit shall assess duty liability arising out of debonding and submit details of such assessment to Customs and Central Excise authorities. Customs and Central Excise authorities shall confirm duty liabilities on priority basis, subject to the condition that the unit has achieved positive NFE, taking into consideration the depreciation allowed. After payment of duty and clearance of all dues, unit shall obtain "No Due Certificate" from Customs and Central Excise authorities. On the basis of "No Dues Certificate" so issued by the Customs and Central Excise authorities, unit shall apply to DC for fina....
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.... after migration of the assessee from the existing EOU, could be granted. This Court had occasion to consider the Circular of 06.01.2004 and in addition proviso to Section 149 of the Customs Act. The Court held as follows:- "6. As per proviso of this Section 149, no amendment of a shipping bill was to be allowed after the export goods have been exported except on the basis of the documentary evidence, which was in existence at the time the goods were exported. The submission of the learned counsel for the appellant/exporter in this regard was that the exporter was in possession of all the documents at the time of export to show that it was entitled to claim under the DEPB/DECC cum drawback scheme. From the plain reading of Section 149, i....
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....ation by the Customs was necessarily required to be done. In the given factual circumstances, that was rightly held to be impossible. The Commissioner in the remand case rightly distinguished the cases cited on behalf of the exporter from the facts of the present. The finding of fact as arrived at by the Commissioner has been rightly upheld by the CESTAT." 11. It is, therefore, clear that the verification which preceded issue of no objection certificate and the final debonding order was with respect to the benefits that could have been availed by the assessee as an EOU Unit. At that stage, the authorities had no occasion to verify whether inputs had been sourced in a proper manner as to entitle the draw back or any other benefit that a D....