Page 119 - ELT_15th June 2020_VOL 372_Part 6th

2020 ] SANDEEP PATIL v. UNION OF INDIA 797

cognate expressions, means taking out of India to a place outside
India.
6. Respondent No. 2 while selling the goods from its duty free shops at
departure terminal hold themselves as exporters of the goods and therefore it
falls under the ambit of “exporter” as defined in Section 2(20) of the Customs
Act, 1962. Applying the definition provided in the Customs Act, in this context,
the goods supplied to the duty free shops by the Indian and international manu-
facturers/suppliers are ‘exported goods’, and on reading this definition in con-
junction with the definitions of exporter, it is clear that the duty free shop opera-
tor is the “exporter” and the supply of goods to the international passengers is an
export.
7. At this stage, it is also worth to make reference to Chapter 6, Para
6.00(a) and 6.21 of the Foreign Trade Policy of India, 2015-2020 (FTP) which reads
thus :
“6.00 Introduction and objective
Units undertaking to export their entire production of goods and services
(except permissible sales in DTA), may be set up under the Export Oriented
Unit (EOU) Scheme....
Objectives of these schemes are to promote exports, enhance foreign ex-
change earnings, attract investment for export production and employment
generation.
6.21 Export through Exhibitions/Export Promotion Tours/Showrooms
Abroad/Duty Free Shops
EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP are permitted to
(i) export goods for holding/participating in exhibitions abroad with
permission of DC.
(ii) personal carriage of gold/silver/platinum jewellery, precious, semi -
precious stones, beads and articles.
(iii) Export goods for display/sale in permitted shops set up abroad.
(iv) Display/sell in permitted shops set up abroad, or in showrooms of
their distributors/agents.
(v) Set up showrooms/retail outlets at International airports.
8. The above policy shows that the export oriented units which under-
take to export their entire quantity of goods and services, are permitted to do so
by setting up retail outlets, i.e., duty free shops, at international airports. Even as
per the FTP of India, sales undertaken from the said duty free shops are export
and the duty free shop operator is the exporter. It is also worth to mention that
COTPA itself provides for reasonable restriction wherever the legislature intend-
ed to impose such restriction.
9. The Supreme Court in M/s. Ashoka (supra) has held thus :
17. ………It is an admitted fact that the goods which had been brought
from foreign countries by the appellant had been kept in bonded ware-
houses and they were transferred to duty free shops situated at Interna-
tional Airport of Bengaluru as and when the stock of goods lying at the du-
ty free shops was exhausted. It is also an admitted fact that the appellant
had executed bonds and the goods, which had been brought from foreign
countries, had been kept in bonded warehouses by the appellant. When the
goods are kept in the bonded warehouses, it cannot be said that the said
EXCISE LAW TIMES  15th June 2020  119