2019 (7) TMI 61

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....9.2015, denying them the benefit of payment of Custom Duty partly in the form of Scrips, which they got under a Scheme known as ''Served From India Scheme (SFIS)'' under the Foreign Trade Policy during the year 2004-05. 2. The Appellant-Assessee viz., Airports Authority of India, in short, 'AAI', was entitled under the provisions of the said Foreign Trade Policy to utilise the said Scrips or licence issued to them by the Office of Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in lieu of exports made by them and earning foreign exchange by providing services to the International Airlines. One such Scrip is illustratively produced as part of Paper Book, which was issued on 04.04.2006 for a period of 24 months entitling the....

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....ion of Fine to the extent of Rs. 3,42,30,000/-. The penalties were reduced from Rs. 50.00 lakhs to 5.00 lakhs and from Rs. 7.00 lakhs to 70,000/- and a minimum penalty of Rs. 5,000/- was retained. Aggrieved by the said order of the Tribunal, the Appellant-Assessee/AAI has approached this Court by way of the present Appeal. 6. Mr.R.Parthasarathy, learned counsel for the Appellant- Assessee, has urged before this Court that the Scrips in question were issued after a period of about one to two years against the export earnings made by giving the export services to the International Airlines for which it received earnings in foreign currency and even though the Scrips in question were issued after the amendment under SFIS by incorporating the ....

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....e question of Redemption Fine, the learned counsel submitted that though the learned Tribunal has granted the desired relief, it erred in only reducing the quantum of penalty, which he submitted that there was no justification at all for imposing the penalty on the Assessee, who was a statutory body under a separate enactment and, therefore, no personal interest could be attributed to the Assessee in evading any kind of custom duty and, on the contrary, it was their legal right to avail the said mode of payment under SFIS so long as the Scrips in question are held valid and remain unchallenged. 8. Per contra, Mr.V.Sundareswaran, learned Standing Counsel for the Respondent-Revenue, submitted that since the law stood amended and on the date ....

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....tricted items in question, such as, Radar equipments in the year 2007. The Scrips in question were never modified or cancelled by any competent authority. Therefore, in our opinion, the amendment in SFIS w.e.f. 01.04.2006 by insertion of the words 'otherwise freely importable under ITC (HS) EXIM Code' did not really affect the Assessee's case at all, because, the items in question were always in the Restricted List. The mode of payment of custom duty against the future imports thus were still available to the Assessee in the present case either in the form of cash or by the Scrips in question. The authority in question seems to have not only used these Scrips by debiting or cancelling the same against the custom duty obligation ....