Mandatory BIS registration for industrial imports enforced independently of tariff classification, justifying denial of domestic clearance.

Import of industrial PCs was treated as subject to the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012, which made BIS registration a mandatory precondition for domestic clearance. The argument that the goods were only components and therefore outside the restriction was rejected because tariff classification for duty purposes does not control enforcement of a separate non-tariff import restriction. The absence of the required certificate was viewed as a substantive compliance failure under a consumer-safety regime, justifying denial of clearance and the consequential confiscation and penalty. The challenge to re-export and related enforcement measures therefore failed.

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Issues: Whether import of industrial PCs without the mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards certificate under the compulsory registration regime could be cleared into the domestic market and whether confiscation, penalty, and re-export were justified.

Analysis: The import was subject to the Electronics Information Technology Goods (Requirement for Compulsory Registration) Order dated 7 September 2012, which made BIS certification a mandatory precondition for clearance. The contention that the goods were only components and therefore outside the restriction was rejected because tariff classification for levy purposes is distinct from the enforcement of non-tariff restrictions under a separate statutory regime. The certification requirement was treated as a substantive consumer-safety measure intended to protect life, limb, and quality standards, and the admitted absence of the certificate justified denial of clearance and the consequential confiscation and penalty.

Conclusion: The import restriction was upheld, and the challenge to confiscation, penalty, and refusal of domestic clearance failed.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was dismissed as the mandatory certification condition had not been satisfied and the goods could not be allowed into the domestic market.

Ratio Decidendi: A non-tariff import restriction creating a mandatory certification requirement must be enforced independently of tariff classification, and absence of the required certificate justifies confiscation and denial of domestic clearance.

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