Interim export relief for pre-existing rice contracts granted pending writ petitions, despite the later export prohibition.

Interim permission was granted to export Non-Basmati White Rice already stored in the petitioners' warehouses before the 20.07.2023 export prohibition, because the petitioners had shown an arguable case based on pre-existing contracts and export commitments made when export was still permitted. The notification was treated as an abrupt policy change, and its exceptions were found not to cover those earlier contracts. The relief was confined to the pendency of the writ petitions and was expressly subject to the final outcome, with the respondents' rights under the Customs Act preserved if the petitions fail.

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Issues: Whether, pending the writ petitions, the petitioners were entitled to interim permission to export Non-Basmati White Rice stored in their warehouses before the export prohibition dated 20.07.2023 came into force.

Analysis: The petitions raised an arguable case because the contracts and export commitments were entered into when export of Non-Basmati White Rice was permissible. The notification brought about an abrupt policy change and the exceptions in the notification did not extend to the petitioners' pre-existing contracts. Relying on the comparable interim protection granted in similar matters, the Court found it appropriate to preserve the petitioners' position pending final adjudication, while making the relief subject to the result of the writ petitions and reserving the respondents' rights under the Customs Act in the event the petitions fail.

Conclusion: Interim permission was granted to export the Non-Basmati White Rice stored by the petitioners in their warehouses before 20.07.2023, subject to the outcome of the writ petitions.

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