C.N.B. Nair, Member (T) - (1.)These appeals are directed against a common adjudication order AKR/CC/ICD/TKD/49 -50, dated 22 -9 -2003 of the Commissioner of Customs, I.C.D., Tughlakabad, New Delhi. Accordingly, they were taken up together for consideration and are disposed off by this common order.
(2.)The case relates to over invoicing of cycle tyre exports with a view to claiming excessive duty entitlement under Duty Entitlement Pass Book Scheme (DEPB). The facts of the case are that the first appellant M/s. Dimension Overseas (P) Ltd., filed Shipping Bill No. 1207422, dated 16 -4 -2002 for export of cycle tyres at a unit value of US Rs. 3.95 tyres (Rs. 192/ -). This consignment was intercepted and examined by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRT) authorities. Investigations showed that the value of the tyre was about Rs. 26/ - per piece, while in the export document the appellant had declared an F.O.13. exports price of Rs. 192/ -. The same amount was declared as Present Market Value (PMV) also The export of tyres are eligible for duty entitlement @ 20% of F.O.B. value. This is subject to a ceiling that the benefit shall not exceed 50% of the market value of the goods. Thus, declared values entitled the appellant to a duty entitlement of over Rs. 38/ - per lyre, while if the correct F.O.B. value and P.M.V. had been declared such entitlement would have much less, and in any case not more than Rs. 13/ - (50% of P.M.V.). During investigation, Shri B.N. Kejriwal, Director of the exporting company stated to the effect that high values had been declared to claim excessive D.E.P.B. scheme benefit.
(3.)Further investigations revealed that eight other exports of cycle tyres had been made by the appellant between December 2001 and March 2002. The total export value for these consignments was about Rs. 2.3 crores, while the purchase price of these items was less than Rs. 36 lakhs. The appellant's duty entitlement claim stood at more than the Rs. 45 lakhs. Thus, the export benefit was much higher than the total domestic value of the goods under export. The investigation lead to the recovery of the purchase invoices of the tyres in question and it was seen that the P.M.Vs. declared by the appellant were several times the purchase price, in order to obtain excess D.E.P.B. Scheme benefit.