Can a supplier of goods from abroad ask for re-export of the goods to any party in case the one who ordered the goods in India has not paid for the goods and has not filed bill of entry, but abandoned the goods after import?
If the import itself is not contrary to any law and the supplier still holds the title to the goods, he can ask for re-export of the goods to any party in any country. This issue is covered in the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Union of India vs. Sampath Raj Dugar [1992b (58) ELT 163 v (SC)]
Can a shipping bill already passed by the Customs be withdrawn? Will it be a violation of any law?
If the goods have not been exported, you can ask to 'shut out' the shipment and request cancellation of the shipping bill. In case you want to export the same goods in, say, another vessel, a fresh set of documents, including shipping bill, will have to be filed. If you want to take the goods out of the docks, you have to follow 'back to town' procedure. There is no violation in such cases, as held in the case of Shree Ganesh Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. [2004 (174) ELT 480 (Tri. Del)].
As per Para 8.4.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), deemed export benefits are available for renovation/modernisation of power plants. Also, supply of goods for expansion of existing mega power projects covered by S.No. 400A of DoR notification no. 21/2002-Customs are eligible deemed export benefits as mentioned in Para 8.2 (a), (b) and (c ) of the FTP. Under what category in Para 8.2 of the FTP are such supplies covered, for the purpose of obtaining the Project Authority Certificate (PAC)?
If the goods are not eligible for zero duty imports and the supplies are not to non-mega power projects, then the supplies have to be covered under Par 8.2 (g) of the FTP and PAC can be obtained accordingly.
We manufacture chemicals, say 'C', that are subject to anti-dumping duty (ADD), if imported. 'C' can be used in manufacture of export products and so is included in SION for many items. Some of these export products can be manufactured by using not 'C' but some alternate inputs also. Many exporters obtain Duty Free Import Authorisation (DFIA) showing 'C' as one of the inputs. Some of them manufacture export products using alternate inputs. After exports, the DFIA gets transferred and the transferees import 'C' without ADD and sell in the market. Consequently, we do not get the protection that we should otherwise get through ADD. You had highlighted this problem in your column last year. Kindly let us know whether the issue is resolved or not and also who are the people we can talk to in this regard.
The issue is not yet resolved. You may take up the matter with the Director General of Foreign Trade.
