It's time exporters were heard

EXIM MATTERS

In the past few years, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath has tried to take some initiatives to resolve disputes with exporters amicably. He has tried to put in place a more credible grievance procedure and allowed disputes to be resolved through the Settlement Commission. He needs to do more to streamline the entire procedures of adjudication and appeals by prescribing time limits.

Under central excise and Customs laws, the department cannot raise issues that are more than one year old. Show cause notices can, however, be issued within five years in cases of willful suppression of facts, collusion or willful mis-statement. The adjudicating authority and appellate commissioners are required to decide the cases within six months.

Under the laws relating to foreign trade, such time limits are not prescribed. Quite often, show cause notices are issued relating to matters that are almost ten years old based on audit reports. For example, show cause notices are now being issued alleging wrong issue of Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) in the year 1997. Quite often, even advance licence cases that had been closed almost 10 years back are being re-opened alleging that the export made against a particular shipping bill is not eligible for counting towards discharge of export obligation.

On many occasions, even show cause notices are not issued and only letters are issued making unreasonable demands with threats to declare the exporter a defaulter. The pleas of exporters that these matters are quite old are summarily dismissed and the exporter are declared defaulter even without issuing show cause notices. There is no appeal procedure against decisions to declare an exporter a defaulter. The appeal procedures exist only in respect of adjudication orders. So, even higher authorities in the headquarters plead inability to much about a defaulter memo.

Sometimes, a joint director general of foreign trade who has no powers to adjudicate a case, simply declares an exporter a defaulter and leaves the matter at that. When he is approached, he pleads inability to do anything as he has no powers to decide the cases. Nor does he forward the matter to the competent authority who can decide the matter. Even when show cause notices are issued, the adjudicating authorities do not decide the cases fast enough, especially if they involve much needed relief for the exporter.

Time limits are prescribed for filing appeals but once any appeal is filed, there is no assurance on when the case will be heard by the appellate authority. There are few instances of a stay being granted on the decisions of the lower authority. The cases remain in a pending state for years. Only vigorous follow up gets a quicker hearing and decision.

Giving arbitrary powers to the licencing authorities to raise demands in respect of cases that are very old, powers to declare an exporter a defaulter without suitable appeal provisions and not subjecting the adjudicating and appellate authorities to any disciplines regarding disposal of cases within specified limits "" are only some of the infirmities in the legal framework that lead to more corruption and harassment at the operating levels.

Since Kamal Nath took over three and half years back, corruption has significantly increased in the licencing offices. Kamal Nath should find time to listen to exporters around the country and resolve their problems at the operating levels.

tncr@sify.com