BIS standards control import clearance where a notified Indian Standard applies, and ITC (HS) code is only indicative.

Imported alloy steel deformed bars remain subject to mandatory BIS standards where a notified Indian Standard covers the product description, even if the ITC (HS) code suggests a different classification. The circular was treated as a clarification that customs clearance must comply with the applicable quality control regime; it did not introduce a new condition, amend the Steel and Steel Products (Quality Control) Order, or create hostile discrimination. The Bombay High Court therefore found no violation of Articles 14, 19(1)(g) or 300A, and upheld the circular as valid.

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Issues: Whether the impugned circular governing import clearance of alloy steel deformed bars was ultra vires or unconstitutional, and whether the Bureau of Indian Standards quality control regime applied to the imported goods notwithstanding the ITC (HS) code classification.

Analysis: The statutory scheme under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986, the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, the Customs Act, 1962, the Foreign Trade Policy and the Steel and Steel Products (Quality Control) Order showed that imported goods remain subject to mandatory Indian standards where a notified Indian Standard covers the product description. The ITC (HS) code was treated as a reference for identification and facilitation of trade, not as the controlling criterion to exclude goods otherwise covered by the relevant Indian Standard. The circular merely clarified the applicability of BIS certification, cautioned customs authorities against clearance without compliance, and did not add a new condition, amend the Quality Control Order, or create hostile discrimination. No violation of Article 14, Article 19(1)(g) or Article 300A was made out.

Conclusion: The challenge to the circular failed and the circular was upheld as valid.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a product is covered by a notified Indian Standard under the BIS regime, compliance with that standard is mandatory for import clearance, and the ITC (HS) code is only indicative unless the statute or order makes it the governing exclusionary criterion.

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