HC : Dismisses writ challenging SFIS denial; Cannot bypass appellate procedure apprehending Authority's incompetency

HC dismisses writ petition challenging order passed by Asst. DGFT denying the benefit of ‘Served from India Scheme’ (SFIS) to assessee rendering hospitality service, on the premise that it was promoting a foreign brand; Rejects assessee’s plea that said order lacks jurisdiction and competency and no fruitful purpose would be served in preferring appeal as Director General himself had earlier taken a decision contrary to assessee’s interest, which has been quashed by Delhi HC and therefore, preferring an appeal would be an empty formality; Perusing Section 15 of FT (D&R) Act, HC elucidates that provision stipulated thereunder is unambiguous that any decision taken or order passed by the Adjudicating Authority is appealable u/s 15(1) either before the Director General or any authorised officer superior to Adjudicating Authority; Remarks, “Law is an evolving procedure and the pragmatic approach by the Courts as well as by the authorities are certainly in growing nature. In a developing nation, the field of law is also being developed by new ideas and thoughts…..apprehension…that the authority will confine himself only in respect of the previous decision, cannot be accepted nor shall form a basis for not exhausting the remedies provided under the Statute”; A decision taken by DGFT at an earlier occasion will not preclude him from reconsidering issues nor assessee can come to a conclusion that DGFT is incompetent to re-adjudicate the issues, observes HC while stating that, “all the intermittent interventions and the writ petitions filed without exhausting the remedies prescribed under the Statutes need not be entertained in all circumstances in a routine manner” : Madras HC