Exporter Seeks Manual Credit of Drawback Benefits after ICEGATE Portal Fails to Enable Credit: Madras HC Orders to file Representation before Customs [Read Order]

The Madras High Court has declined to directly order manual credit of drawback and RoSCTL benefits to an exporter after the ICEGATE portal allegedly failed to enable disbursal of the sanctioned amount. The Court directed the exporter to first submit a formal representation to the Customs authorities, who have been asked to decide the matter within a fixed timeframe in accordance with law.

The writ petition was filed by Monesh Bhajalal Hinduja, sole proprietor of Kartar Exim, seeking manual credit of Drawback plus RoSCTL benefits (Scheme Code 60) in respect of three shipping bills dated January 13, 2022, February 23, 2022, and April 13, 2022.

The claim was based on an Order-in-Original dated April 26, 2023, passed by theCommissioner of Customs, Chennai IV, which had allowed conversion of these shipping bills from the Drawback Scheme (Scheme Code 19) to Drawback + RoSCTL.

Despite the favourable order, the petitioner contended that the benefits were not credited to his bank account because the ICEGATE portal did not technically enable such credit, forcing him to approach the High Court for relief.

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The exporter sought a writ of mandamus directing the Customs authorities and the Directorate General of Systems and Data Management to manually credit the eligible drawback and RoSCTL amounts directly into his bank account. It was also pointed out that the department had not challenged the Order-in-Original, which had attained finality.

Justice Abdul Quddhose noted that while the petitioner was seeking implementation of a valid and unchallenged Order-in-Original, no prior representation had been made to the Customs authorities requesting manual disbursal of the benefits due to technical limitations of the ICEGATE system.

The Court observed, examining the situation, directing the petitioner to submit fresh representation to the Customs authorities within two weeks from receipt of the Court’s order. The authorities were instructed to hear the matter properly.

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