1. Maintainability of Appeal: Rejection letters from JDGFT constitute appealable decisions under Section 15. The ADGFT acted within its jurisdiction.
2. Non-Speaking Orders: Administrative or quasi-judicial decisions must articulate clear reasoning for transparency and accountability.
3. Remand for Fresh Adjudication: JDGFT must reconsider the application with proper reasoning, ensuring fair hearing and adherence to legal principles.

1. Case Overview:

• Petitioner: Ashwini Ashish Dighe, a business operator engaged in manufacturing optical fibers under "Sunteck Telecommunications."
• Respondents: Union of India and several trade officials.
• Issue: Rejection of an MEIS duty credit scrip application for exports warehoused in a Free Trade and Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) and subsequent appeal dismissal by ADGFT.

2. Background:

• Initial Rejection (2020): Application for MEIS scrip benefits rejected for lack of evidence correlating exports to the benefits claimed.
• Opportunity Provided (2021): Court allowed fresh submission of evidence.
• Second Rejection (2022): JDGFT rejected the application, citing Paragraph 3.06 of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), which deems exports from FTWZ units ineligible.

3. Legal Contentions:

• Petitioner: Challenged the appeal dismissal, asserting maintainability under Sections 9 and 15 of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992. Claimed JDGFT’s rejection lacked reasoning.
• Respondents: Defended the rejection, arguing the appeal was filed with the wrong authority (ADGFT) and that the supplies were ineligible under the FTP.

4. High Court's Analysis:

• Adjudicating Authority: The JDGFT was deemed to have adjudicating authority for this purpose under Section 15, despite objections from the respondents.
• Appeal Jurisdiction: The ADGFT was held competent to hear the appeal, as per government notification and Section 15(1)(b).
• Speaking Order Requirement: The court emphasized the need for a speaking order to justify the JDGFT's rejection of the MEIS scrip application.

Legal Framework:

• Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992:

  • Section 9: Governs the issuance, suspension, and cancellation of licenses and scrips.
  • Section 15: Allows appeals against orders by adjudicating authorities.

• Foreign Trade Policy (FTP):

  • Paragraph 3.06: Specifies ineligibility criteria for exports made through FTWZ.

Subjects:

Foreign Trade Law, Administrative Law, Quasi-Judicial Decisions.

#MEISScrip #ForeignTradeAct1992 #AdministrativeLaw #JudicialReview #TradePolicy