Home Case Index All Cases Customs Customs + HC Customs - 2022 (1) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2022 (1) TMI 819 - HC - CustomsRejection of applications for issuance of Duty Credit Scrips under the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) - rejection on the ground that the transaction was between the Petitioner and the FTWZ unit in an SEZ and thus ineligible for claiming benefit under MEIS - overriding effect of SEZ Act over all provisions of all other Acts as per Section 51 of the said Act - HELD THAT:- Paragraph 3.06 of the FTP 2015-20 refers to exported goods which shall be ineligible for Duty Credit Scrips under MEIS. Clause (vi) of paragraph 3.06 states that SEZ/FTWZ products exported through DTA units shall be ineligible for benefit under MEIS. Similarly clause (xix) states that the exports made by units in FTWZ shall be ineligible for benefit under MEIS. The Competent Authority / Respondents have denied benefit to the Petitioner under the aforesaid two clauses on the premise that the transaction of the Petitioner is with the FTWZ unit (Siddhartha Logistics Co. Pvt. Ltd.). In the present case, Petitioner has pleaded that the transaction in question for supply of export goods (Single Mode Optical Fibers G642D) is with its foreign overseas buyer (Technocraft Engineering LLC, Dubai, UAE), and that it is on the instructions of the overseas buyer the Petitioner delivered the export goods to the FTWZ unit (Siddhartha Logistics Co. Pvt. Ltd.) in India - it is seen that in Paragraph 3, the reference to the Overseas Buyer is to a company called “Ashteck Global FZE”, which on scrutiny shows that it is located in Ajman, UAE. There is no reference to Technocraft Engineering LLC, Dubai, UAE in the written propositions and annexures to the Petition, the written propositions as well as the compilation of documents tendered across the bar. Applying the ratio of the decision in JINDAL DRUGS PRIVATE LIMITED VERSUS THE UNION OF INDIA, THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS, THE ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL OF FOREIGN TRADE [2021 (7) TMI 1034 - MADRAS HIGH COURT], in the absence of necessary documentary evidence as alluded to hereinabove, the Petitioner cannot claim MEIS benefit merely on the basis of pleadings. If the Petitioner claims that the export goods are delivered to the FTWZ unit and thereafter exported to Taiwan on the instructions of its Overseas Buyer, the burden of proof is on the Petitioner to produce the contractual agreement / authorization / transaction details with the Overseas Buyer to substantiate the same - In the Jindal Drugs case, though the facts are similar to the case in hand, the Madras High Court therein looked into the principal transaction between the parties to ascertain the role of the parties, it confirmed receipt of foreign exchange from Ireland and the BRC evidencing this position, it referred to the supporting documentation pertaining to onward shipment by the FTWZ unit therein to the location of choice of the overseas buyer and then concluded that the FTWZ unit therein merely offered a facility of warehousing to the Petitioner therein to facilitate the export. None of the above issues have been pleaded, and effectively proved by the Petitioner, save and except one shipping bill which does not evidence the aforesaid position in the case of the Petitioner. It is a settled proposition of law that a party has to plead the case and produce/adduce sufficient evidence to substantiate his submissions made in the petition. In the absence of the same, the Court need not entertain the pleadings and submissions so made. In view of absence of documentary evidence, and the findings and discussion, the Petitioner cannot be granted MEIS benefit merely on the basis of pleadings which are prima facie insufficient on the face of record. Hence the Petition must fail - petition dismissed.
|