The DRI had recently unearthed 25 cases, involving duty of more than Rs 40 crore, of non-compliance of export obligation by exporters availing of the benefits under the EPCG scheme.

The commerce ministry has now extended the period for fulfilment of past obligations to March 2001. To avail of this exemption, applicants will have to furnish bank guarantees covering the duty involved with interest thereon.

According to a senior revenue department official, only a few exporters questioned by DRI have deposited the duty. The rest skirted it in the wake of the moratorium proposed in the revised exim policy.

The EPCG scheme implemented in 1992-93 allows import of plant or machinery on a concessional rate of duty or by paying no duty insome cases. The importing companies are required to fulfil the export obligation, normally 4-5 times of the CIA value of the import, within four to six years.

Under the scheme, defaulters on fulfilling the export obligation are required to pay the saved customs duty with interest at the rate of 24 per cent and surrender SIL three times the value of lessons.

The DRI has found that many exporters availing of the benefits of the EPCG scheme since its inception in 1992-93, have failed to fulfil their export obligation even after completion of the allowed period, which was in 1997-98.

Of the 25 cases investigated by DRI, only five exporters have deposited the duty. The major depositors include Jindal Vijaynagar and Philips India, Mumbai, which have deposited duty worth Rs 10 crore and Rs 2 crore respectively. The balance has not deposited the duty as yet, according to the sources.

Now, the DRI is forced to stall the inquiry. "It is not clear what will happen to the cases," said the official, adding thatthe exporters who have already deposited the duty may seek recovery.

The revenue department feels that those exporters who have failed to fulfil their export obligation by a big margin will not be able to fulfil it even during the moratorium period.

It is felt that those who have fulfilled 60 per cent or more of it should get the benefit of moratorium but those who have fulfilled less than 10 per cent should not be extended the benefit. "It is not very clear now, who will get the benefit and who will not," said the official.

A commerce ministry official said, "All the defaulters on export obligation will get the benefit of moratorium except those involved in fraudulence."

It may be noted that up to 1995, monitoring of the EPCG scheme was with the DGFT. It was thereafter shifted to the customs department. Cases registered by the DRI involve exporters who had started availing of the scheme before 1995.

"Such instances of non-compliance have gone down considerably after 1995," said the revenuedepartment official.