Drawback - What is ‘said Schedule'?
IN the above drawback notification, there is a major drawback.
The opening paragraph of the Notification states, "the Central Government hereby determines the rates of drawback as specified in the Schedule annexed hereto (hereinafter referred to as the said Schedule) subject to the following notes and conditions, namely:-"
So, throughout the notification, the said Schedule means the Drawback Schedule annexed to the Notification.
Condition (2) of the Notifications reads as, "The General Rules for the Interpretation of the First Schedule to the said Customs Tariff Act, 1975 shall mutatis mutandis apply for classifying the export goods listed in the said Schedule.”
Now there are two schedules here - one is the First Schedule to the Tariff Act and the other is the Drawback Schedule.
And here the confusion starts:
Condition (3) of the notification declares, "Notwithstanding anything contained in the said Schedule..."
Here what the Government means is the ‘First Schedule' and not the ‘said schedule' .
DDT had pointed out this defect in 02.05.2013 and asked Will the Board clarify/rectify?
But obviously it was not heard.
In all fairness to the present draftsman, it must be admitted that this is not a new mistake and it first occurred in 2006 by Notification No. 114/2006 - Cus NT dated 22.11.2006 and has been religiously continued since then with regal regularity year after year.