“35. It was thus understood that the nexus has to be maintained that ‘product group’, viz., the category of the products which is exported. If the import also falls in the same category/group, it would be allowable. In the aforesaid letter, in relation to the export in food, it was clarified that it would be ‘food category’ with respect to which the exporter was required to maintain nexus. In that particular case, the exporter was exporting dry fruits, he was permitted to import almond which falls in the category of ‘dry fruits’. Initially, when Public Notice NO. 16 dated 04.6.2005 was issued replacing earlier Appendix 17D with new one in Para 10 thereof, “broad nexus” was explained to mean goods imported with respect to any product group of the exported goods within the overall value of entitlement certificate. Same meaning was assigned in Para 3.2.5 of the HBP amended on 08.4.2005. Thus, Circular dated 01.8.2006 of the DGFT was in tune with the aforesaid. It is only thereafter that another Circular dated 08.5.2007 was issued bringing the concept of ‘use’ and ‘own used’ contained in the Policy to associate the same with ‘input’ and stating that the import was possible of those products only if the same had a ‘broad nexus’ with the product group as an input with the export group and is required to be used as an input in the product exported by which TPS benefit is sought. On this basis, Public Notice No. 21.6.2007 was issued a this was departure of earlier understating, the respondents naturally felt aggrieved against the same.
