Calcutta High Court rules to extend export window for wheat trader

The Calcutta High Court has directed the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to extend the last date given to a Kolkata-based exporter to send shipments of wheat that were exempted from the export ban order by one month to October 31.

This could lead to more exporters who have missed the September 30 deadline to approach the court for an extension of the export window, trade insiders said.

When the central government banned wheat export on May 13, it had exempted export contracts for which the Letter of Credit (LC) was opened with the banks on or before May 13. The last date for export of this wheat was September 30.

Soubhik Exports from Kolkata had moved the high court on September 6, demanding extension of the last date for export of wheat as it could not be done in the stipulated time.

If the court order results in actual export shipments, more traders are likely to come forward seeking extensions for their LCs, having failed to export the quantities for which they had opened LCs by September 30 due to various reasons including shortage of railway rakes and erratic climatic conditions.

"There is no clarity about what the impact of the order of the Calcutta High Court on wheat exports will be," said Bimal Bengani, a wheat exporter from West Bengal.