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2. Learned senior counsel for the petitioner contended that the judgment of the Appellate Tribunal was wrong and hence be set aside. On the other hand, learned senior Government Pleader (Taxes) argued supporting the judgment of the Tribunal.

3. The D.E.P.B. Scheme was introduced as part of the Export-Import Policy 1997-2002. The object of the Scheme is to neutralise the incidence of customs duty on the import content of the export product. The neutralisation shall be provided by way of grant of duty credit against the export product. Under the D.E.P.B. Scheme an exporter may apply for credit, at a specified percentage of F.O.B. value of exports made in freely convertible currency. The credit shall be available against such export products and at such rates as may be specified by the Director General of Foreign Trade by way of Public Notice issued in this behalf, for import of raw materials, intermediates, components, parts, etc. For example if A is an exporter of kraft paper he will be entitled to the credit of Rs. 5/- for every F.O.B. of Rs. 100/-. These rates are given under Section 28(A) of Handbook of Procedure Volume-1. D.E.P.B. will be used as duty payment for import of raw materials, intermediates, components, parts, packaging materials etc. The D.E.P.B. shall be valid for a period of 12 months from the date of issue. D.E.P.B. and/or the items imported against it are freely transferable. There is no prior approval required from licensing authority. The D.E.P.B. holder can transfer the D.E.P.B. by issuing a transfer letter in favour of the person. The transfer letter is signed by authorised person of the company. His signature is verified by his banker so as to establish the genuineness of the signature. D.E.P.B. Scheme has got a market value. Its value depends upon the demand of the items which are allowed to be imported as per the D.E.P.B. If the demand is more the premium will be high and vice versa. Presently, the prevailing premium is around 113% of the D.E.P.B. amount. That means a holder of D.E.P.B. will get Rs. 113/- for every 100 rupees value of the D.E.P.B. The rate also depends on other factors like name of Port, etc. Even though D.E.P.B. can be utilised only for import at the ports will be allowed under T.R.A. facility as per the terms and conditions of the notifications issued by the Department of Revenue.