Hazardous waste classification controls brass dross imports, and non-hazardous material is not a restricted import.

Brass dross was treated as a restricted import only when it fell within the hazardous waste category and was therefore importable only against a licence for processing or reuse. The classification entry had to be read as a whole, with the policy column and import conditions read together. On the facts, the sample was found not to contain any water-soluble chemical compound and did not fall within the hazardous waste category under the applicable waste rules. Confiscation and penalty were therefore unsustainable, and the appeal was allowed.

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Issues: Whether brass dross imported by the appellant was a restricted item requiring an import licence and, if not hazardous waste, whether confiscation and penalty were sustainable.

Analysis: The classification entry had to be read as a whole, with the policy column and the column containing the conditions of import read together. On that reading, brass dross was restricted only when it answered the description of hazardous waste and was importable only against a licence for processing or reuse. The sample drawn in this case was found not to contain any water-soluble chemical compound and therefore did not fall within the hazardous waste category under the applicable waste rules framed under the environmental statute.

Conclusion: Brass dross which is not hazardous waste is not a restricted import requiring a licence, and the confiscation and penalty were unsustainable; the appeal was allowed.

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