Hazardous waste import controls apply to used electronic assemblies, making unauthorised import liable to confiscation and re-export.

Old and used datagraphic display tubes imported for direct re-use were treated as electronic assemblies covered by Serial No. B1110 of Part B of Schedule III to the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008. Because the goods required prior Ministry of Environment and Forests permission and none was obtained, the import was regarded as unauthorised and illegal under the hazardous waste regime. That exposed the goods to confiscation under the Customs Act and re-export at the importer's cost. The 2011 e-waste Rules were noted as inapplicable to this import of hazardous waste.

---

---

Issues: Whether old and used datagraphic display tubes imported for direct re-use were covered by the hazardous waste regime and, in the absence of Ministry of Environment and Forests permission, were liable to confiscation and re-export.

Analysis: The imported goods were found on examination and by the Chartered Engineer's report to be old, used and reconditioned electronic assemblies. The governing legal framework was the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008, made under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. On the facts, the goods fell within Serial No. B1110 of Part B of Schedule-III, which covers electrical and electronic assemblies destined for direct use and not for recycling or final disposal. Such items, being listed without a star, required prior permission of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. In the absence of such permission, the import was contrary to the restrictions under the Rules and was treated as illegal import, attracting confiscation under the Customs Act and the consequence of re-export at the importer's cost. The e-waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011 were held not to govern import of hazardous waste in this context.

Conclusion: The import was held to be restricted and unauthorized, and confiscation with liability to re-export was upheld against the assessee.

---