Hazardous chemical classification must follow the scheduled item imported, not assumed composition-based inclusion.

Imported polyurethane resin was not shown to be listed in the Schedule to the Management, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989, and liability under Rule 18(2) depends on the chemical actually imported being a scheduled hazardous chemical. The Rules did not permit treating the product as hazardous merely on an assumed composition-based inclusion when the imported item itself was not specifically listed. As the regulatory basis for treating the import as prohibited or controlled under the cited provisions failed, confiscation, redemption fine and penalty were not sustainable.

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Issues: Whether the imported Polyurethane Resin was a hazardous chemical covered by the Schedule to the Management, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989, and whether confiscation, redemption fine and penalty were justified for alleged non-compliance with Rule 18(2).

Analysis: Rule 18(2) requires prior furnishing of information by a person importing hazardous chemicals, and Rule 2(e) defines hazardous chemical with reference to the chemicals listed in the Schedules. The imported product itself was not shown to be listed in the Schedule. The classification under the Rules depends on the chemical imported, not on an assumed composition-based inclusion where the imported item is not specifically listed. Since the Rules did not provide for treating the composition of the product as sufficient to bring it within the scheduled hazardous chemicals, the basis for treating the import as prohibited or regulated under the cited provisions failed.

Conclusion: The imported goods were not hazardous chemicals under the Rules, and the confiscation, redemption fine and penalty were not sustainable.

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