Customs Act, 1962 – s.149 – Amendment of documents – Inadvertent error in the shipping bills, which was permitted to be corrected u/s.149, if can defeat appellant-exporter’s claim under the MEIS-Merchandise Exports from India Scheme: Held: Once exports are genuine and fall within the notified category, inadvertent mistakes of procedure cannot be treated as fatal, especially where they are corrected under statutory authority – Beneficial schemes must be construed liberally and that procedural lapses, once rectified, cannot be allowed to defeat substantive rights – Scheme under the Foreign Trade Policy is a beneficial one, intended to reward exporters – Rejection by the Policy Relaxation Committee, bereft of reasons and passed without hearing, falls foul of the principles of natural justice – High Court’s view that the appellant-exporter may proceed against the customs broker fails to address the statutory entitlement which accrues to the exporter under the scheme – Administrative technology must aid, not obstruct, the implementation of the law – Judgment of the High Court set aside – Rejection by the Policy Relaxation Committee is quashed – Respondents directed to process the appellant’s claim for MEIS benefit on the basis of the amended shipping bills and to pass appropriate orders in accordance with law – Union of India to take appropriate measures, to ensure that genuine exporters are not driven to needless litigation on account of inadvertent procedural lapses which have been rectified in accordance with law. [Paras 13-16]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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