WORLDWIDE TRADELINKS Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS (EXPORTS)

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to register duty credit scrips issued under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Rebate of State and Center Taxes and Levies (ROSCTL) by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ludhiana (hereinafter referred to as "DGFT").

(2.) The petitioner's case in the present writ petition is that, it is a Partnership firm and is engaged in the business of manufacture and export of knitted textile garments and is holding an Import Export Code Number No.3010012691 dated 25.11.2010, issued by the office of Director General of Foreign Trade, Ludhiana. It is further the case of the petitioner that the turnover of the petitioner both in respect to domestic and export is very substantial and for the said purpose, the petitioner has given a chart in Para 4 of the writ petition showing the domestic and export turnover of the petitioner for 2 years i.e. 2017-18 and 2018-19. The said chart is reproduced hereinbelow:-

(3.) That it is further the case of the petitioner that on 17.06.2019, staff of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (hereinafter referred to as "DRI") searched the factory premises of the petitioner and during the course of search seized physical and electronic records lying in the factory premises and also recorded statement of the partners of the petitioner. It is further averred that the DRI summoned various input suppliers of the petitioner and the petitioner, to show its bona fide as per the direction of DRI, deposited a sum of Rs.50 lakhs towards any future liability. It is averred that the DRI directed different authorities including DGFT to withhold export incentives and the DGFT without applying its independent mind withheld export incentives of the petitioner and put the name of the petitioner in the Denied Entity List (DEL). It is further averred that no prior opportunity was granted to the petitioner. Although, the DRI permitted the petitioner to continue their export, however, the DGFT on account of the directions/alerts issued by DRI did not release export incentives. References have been made in the writ petition to the letters dated 14.10.2020 (Annexure P-5) and 22.10.2020 (Annexure P-6) in which it has been observed that the alert which have been issued against the Import Export Code (IEC) of the petitioner was active on date.