Can I add my existing, licensed apps to my list of 'Purchases' on the Mac App Store so I don't have to buy them twice?

Question

Hello,
I was wondering if I could add my existing, licensed apps to the list of app 'Purchases' that I have on the Mac App Store.
The reason for this is that I recently suffered the inevitable hard disk failure and I had to rebuild my MacBook Pro from scratch (with the help of Time Machine and Migration Assistant, etc.). As usual, I hadn't really maintained my MBP for quite a while and things sort of got away from me, in terms of data, apps, preferences, permissions, users (my personal account, my wife's account, my old work account...), etc.
So I wanted to rebuild my MBP on a clean slate. I like having the ability to quickly download and install just the right apps that I "really" need from MAS safe in the knowledge that:
they are there (assuming they're still available through MAS) with a full description of what they do and when I bought them, etc.
they are going to be in the most up-to-date version,
I'll be able to download and install them cleanly with no corruption from years of multiple user preference changes and permissions, etc.
that they will be managed and maintained (updated) through the same mechanism,
so much more.
The benefits of having apps from MAS are easy to see when compared to going through my downloads folder and emails looking for the latest installers, working out what they're for in the first place, finding the license key in some forgotten e-mail, etc.
I am aware that I can build a clean machine and then restore just the right apps in their most up-to-date version as I had them on my backups.  The one thing to say about that is that the apps may have been used and abused once too many times and their preferences, etc. may not be in the most desirable form. It's just not as elegant as the MAS solution.
I realise that not all apps, app versions, or app vendors, are available through MAS. But I still have a fair few apps currently available on MAS that were bought prior to the existence of MAS, prior to them becoming available on MAS, or were bought directly for some other reason (by mistake).
So I wondered if there was any way I could convert my legitimate licenses from simply a direct purchase to one through MAS and have those apps listed under my 'Purchases' list. It would reduce the amount of work I'd have to do, not only to rebuild my machine but also to maintain it.
I cannot find any reference or way of having this work the way I would like it to. But I was hoping that some Apple guru would enlighten me.
I have thought about the possible mechanisms something like this would need to work and I must admit I see some not insurmountable issues (not as much technical as legal or possibly logistical). I realise that MAS is a service in its own right and as such has its own Terms, Conditions and Licensing that may not be compatible with the licenses that I already have. I also realise that when I purchase an app from MAS that I'm paying for the entire service including updates and use on multiple machines that I may own, etc. Obviously I do not want to pay the full purchase cost again for the same app twice, but I am willing to pay a small conversion/upgrade fee to have it managed as part of my 'Purchases' on MAS.  Think of it in the same terms as iTunes works.  I can purchase music, etc. but I can also add my own CD collection and have it managed by iTunes and store it in the cloud should anything go wrong with my local machine, etc.
So if this is currently not possible, then for the Apple MAS product managers out there, consider this as a suggestion/feedback.  I'd be happy to discuss my thoughts in more detail about not only how to achieve this for now but also for the future when you may add existing applications to MAS that people may have previously bought direct and would like to have managed through MAS going forward. The benefits to the users are hopefully clear, but from Apple's perspective I hope that you can see the advantages too, commercially, etc.
PS: I apologise for the wordiness of my query and overuse of 'etc.', etc.

Answer 1

Can I add my existing, licensed apps to my list of 'Purchases' on the Mac App Store so I don't have to buy them twice?
No. Only apps purchased from the App Store can be re downloaded for free including updates.