Retrospective Changes Likely To Devastate Entire Sector, Withdrawal Of Merchandise Exports Scheme Shall Apply Prospectively: Delhi High Court
Case: Indian Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container Association v. Director General of Foreign Trade
Coram: Chief Justice and Justice Sanjeev Narula
Case No.: W.P.(C) 14779/2021
Court Observation: “its primary objective was to counterbalance infrastructural inefficiencies and the affiliated expenses associated with Indian exports”.
“Retrospective withdrawals of benefits and incentives by their nature, risk inflicting irreversible harm, in this case – the Petitioner’s member units. While prospective amendments or alterations are within the Central Government’s purview and typically beyond reproach, retrospective changes that could devastate an entire sector raise serious concerns.”
“RoSCTL, in its very nature, cannot compensate for claims associated with exports executed or committed before the release of the impugned notification, for which the Petitioner was rightfully eligible. The claims under each scheme are distinct, separate, and cannot be juxtaposed or adjusted against one another.”
“In attempting to intertwine the RoSCTL scheme—which incidentally offers no benefits to the FIBC sector—into the discourse, the DGFT appears to be deliberately muddying the waters”
“…selectively withdrawing the scheme with retrospective effect for specific categories not only appears arbitrary but also compounds the deprivation felt by the FIBC sector, which was already excluded from the RoSCTL benefit”
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