Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992

Liberty India, a partnership firm operating a small‑scale industrial undertaking, claimed a deduction under s.80‑18 of the Income‑Tax Act for profits arising from Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEP8) and duty‑drawback credits that were posted to its profit and loss account. The Assessing Officer rejected the claim, holding…

The case concerned the validity of several amendments to the Export-Import (EXIM) Policy 2002-2007 made by Notification No. 28 (Jan 28, 2004) and subsequent public notices and notifications (Jan 28 2004 Public Notice, Apr 21 & 23 2004 Notifications). Exporters alleged that these changes were retrospective, ultra vires,…

The Union of India amended the import policy for peas and other pulses, shifting them from a free to a restricted category and imposing quantitative import limits through notifications and a trade notice issued under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (FTDR Act). Importers challenged the validity …

Harish Marine Products (the appellant) purchased a Single Buyer Exposure Policy from Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) covering the risk of a foreign buyer’s non‑payment for goods exported between 14‑12‑2012 and 13‑12‑2013. The goods were loaded onto the vessel on 13‑12‑2012 (as per the Bill of Lading) and the…

The case concerned appeals by the Commissioner of Customs against the confiscation of a consignment of readymade garments exported by Mis Brooks International for duty drawback. The revenue authorities seized the goods, invoking Sections 113(c) and (d) of the Customs Act, 1962, alleging that the market value of the goo…

The appellant imported second‑hand photocopier machines in January 2005 under the "general imports" category of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2004‑09. The Customs authority treated the machines as "restricted" under para 2.17 of the FTP, relying on DGFT circulars and seized them. The Supreme Court held that the machin…

Sunila Jain appealed against a preventive detention order issued under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA) against her husband, D.K. Jain, who had been released on bail by the Special Court of Economic Offences on the ground that the alleged offence was bailable. T…

The Union of India appealed against a show‑cause notice issued to respondents for importing certain goods in August 1997, which was based on an order dated 14‑Nov‑1986 issued under Clause 8(1) of the Imports (Control) Order, 1986. After the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 came into force, the impor…

The appellants, manufacturers of edible oils, challenged two Central Government notifications that prohibited the import of crude palm oil through Kerala ports, arguing that the notifications were ultra vires the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 and violated Article 14 by arbitrarily discriminating …

The State of West Bengal issued the West Bengal Rice and Paddy Control Order, 1997 under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, containing clauses 9 and 10 that regulated storage, transport and export of rice and paddy. A writ petition challenged these clauses as being inconsistent with the export‑import policy framed un…

The Union of India challenged the Bombay High Court's orders directing the release of large quantities of yellow peas imported by M/s. Raj Grow Impex LLP and M/s. Harihar Collections, which were imported in excess of the quantitative limits and without the required licence under the 2019 FTDR notifications. The issue w…

The petitioner was detained under Section 3(1)(i) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 after customs seized a large quantity of dutiable cell‑phones from his baggage at Chennai Airport. He claimed the goods were not his, that the customs statement was made under coerc…

Noble Resources and Trading India Private Ltd, a two‑star export house, imported crude degummed soybean oil under a duty‑free credit entitlement certificate issued pursuant to the EXIM Policy 2002‑2007. The Customs authorities denied the exemption, holding that the oil was an agricultural product excluded by Notificati…

The appellant, M/s Nola Ram Dulichand Dal Mills, challenged a 2009 circular that clarified exports by 100% Export Oriented Units (EOUs) were ineligible for duty credit under the Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojna scheme for 2006-07. The High Court dismissed the writ, and the Supreme Court examined whether the circular amounted …

The Union of India appealed against a Madras High Court order that quashed a preventive detention order passed under Section 3(1)(i) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 against Smt. Ratnamala (referred to as the detenu). The detenu’s father had made a representation …

Mis Baraka Overseas Traders obtained three advance licences for exporting fresh frozen seafood under the EXIM Policy 1997‑2002. After fulfilling export obligations it applied for endorsement of transferability, which the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) refused on the ground that the licences were wrongly place…

Mis Topman Exports sold its Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) and claimed a deduction under section 80HHC of the Income Tax Act for the assessment year 2002-03. The Assessing Officer treated the entire sale proceeds as profit on transfer under section 28(iiid), denying the deduction. The Tribunal held that DEPB is cash…

The Central Government issued a notification on 27 June 2006 banning the export of pulses and a subsequent notification on 4 July 2006 permitting export against irrevocable letters of credit opened before 22 June 2006. Exporters who had already obtained Let‑Export orders and complied with Section 51 of the Customs Act …

Mis. Taarika Exports and others were granted an advance licence to import raw materials free of customs duty, subject to an export obligation to ship 5,400 mulberry silk jackets within nine months. The company imported the raw materials, exported only part of the finished goods and failed to meet the export quota, prom…

The Supreme Court examined a batch of six appeals concerning the taxability of Replenishment Licences (REP licences) and the Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) scheme under various State sales tax statutes. The appellants argued that the three‑judge decision in Vikas Sales Corporation v. Commissioner of Commercial Taxes,…

The appellant Gurdev Singh challenged the detention of his son, Swarn Singh Sandhu, under Section 3(1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA), alleging misuse of the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) export incentive scheme and forging shipping bills. The det…

The respondent, a class‑I civil contractor, completed work on the Koyna Hydro Electric Project funded by the World Bank and claimed duty drawback as a "deemed export" under the Exim Policy 1992‑1997. After multiple rejections by the DGFT, a Policy Interpretation Committee in 2002 allowed the drawback, which was paid in…

Rexnord Electronics & Control Ltd. obtained two Export Promotion Capital Goods licences requiring export of specified values within five years and furnished a bond undertaking to pay interest on any duty shortfall. The company failed to meet its export obligations, leading to demand notices for customs duty plus 15% in…

Sandoz Private Limited, a 100% Export Oriented Unit (EOU), sought refund of Terminal Excise Duty (TED) paid by its Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) unit for goods supplied to the EOU. The Union of India and other respondents contended that the EOU was ab initio exempt from excise duty under the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) and…

The Supreme Court examined the validity of a 2005 circular and notification that amended the Foreign Trade Policy 2004‑2009 to prohibit 100% Export Oriented Units (EOUs) from making Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) sales of finished marble produced from imported rough marble. The petitioners, several marble‑manufacturing EOU…