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TMI Blog2013 (4) TMI 390X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to challenge the orders passed by the Foreign Trade Development Officer between 18 May 2011 and 5 July 2011 (Exhibits-D-1 to D-10) declining to revalidate the DFIA licenses on the ground that the request could not be considered in terms of paragraph 2.13.1 of the Hand Book of Procedures. 2. Between 23 April 2008 and 25 November 2010, 24 DFIA Licenses were issued to the Petitioner by the Joint Director General of Foreign Trade. According to the Petitioner, it complied with the export obligation following which the Third Respondent issued a certificate of discharge of the export obligation. The Petitioner applied for revalidation of the licenses, which request was rejected as noted by diverse orders annexed at Exhibits-D-1 to D-10 to the pe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 15. Appeal.- (1) Any person aggrieved by any decision or order made by the Adjudicating Authority under this Act may prefer an appeal,- (a) Where the decision or order has been made by the Director General, to the Central Government; (b) Where the decision or order has been made by an officer subordinate to the Director General, to the Director-General or to any officer superior to the Adjudicating Authority authorised by the Director- General to hear the appeal, within a period of forty-five days from the date on which the decision or order is served on such person : Provided that the Appellate Authority may, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from preferring the appeal within the aforesaid period, a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al or to any officer superior to the adjudicating authority prescribed by the Director General. Sub Section 1 of Section 15 prescribes a period of 45 days from the date of service of the decision of the order for filing an appeal. Under the proviso, the Appellate Authority is empowered to allow the appeal to be preferred within a further period of thirty days if it is satisfied that the Appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from preferring the appeal. 6. There is no dispute before this Court, during the course of hearing, that the orders of the Foreign Development Officer were subject to the remedy of an appeal under Section 9(5) read with Section 15, since the effect of those orders is to deny the request for renewal or revalidation ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dicial bodies. A period of limitation is provided. Article 226 cannot be taken recourse to where within the limitation provided by law, the statutory remedy was not availed of. 7. On merits it has been urged on behalf of the Petitioner that the ground on which revalidation was refused was that revalidation was not permissible in view of the terms of paragraph 2.13.1 of the Hand Book of Procedures. This is questioned. In view of our finding on the issue of maintainability, the second question on merits will not arise. However, for the sake of completeness, we will deal with the submission on merits hereafter. For the reasons which we now indicate, there is no substance in the contention on merits. 8. Paragraph 4.72 of Chapter-V of the Fore ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Customs authority/R.A. nor was any certificate produced from the Customs authorities to this effect. The averment in the affidavit-inreply has not been controverted. In these circumstances, plainly even on merits, the Petitioner was not entitled to the grant of revalidation. 9. For these reasons, we have come to the conclusion that the petition is not maintainable on the ground that the statutory alternate remedy which was available to the Petitioner, was not availed of and the prescribed period under Section 15 has elapsed. However, we have also found, on evaluating the alternate submission of the counsel for the Petitioner, that there is no merit in the grievance. 10. The petition shall accordingly stand dismissed. There shall be no ord ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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