Registration under the Insecticides Act cannot be demanded for boric acid imports absent evidence of insecticidal use.

Boric acid classified under Heading 28.10 was treated as a raw material, and registration or an end-use certificate under the Insecticides Act, 1968 could not be insisted upon merely because the commodity appears in the insecticide schedule or is mentioned in a departmental circular. The decisive factor was the absence of evidence that the imported boric acid was intended for insecticidal use; committee findings also indicated that boric acid imported for non-insecticidal use was exempt from registration. On that basis, confiscation and penalty were held unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether boric acid imported under Chapter 28 required registration and an end-use certificate under the Insecticides Act, 1968 so as to justify confiscation and penalty.

Analysis: The imported goods were found classifiable under Heading 28.10 and ordinarily used as raw material. The decision turned on whether the mere inclusion of boric acid in the Schedule to the Insecticides Act, 1968 and the departmental circular could convert every import into an insecticidal import requiring registration. The Tribunal noted that the material on record did not establish that the imported boric acid was intended for insecticidal use, and the committee findings indicated that boric acid imported for non-insecticidal use was exempt from registration. In the absence of evidence showing insecticidal use, insistence on registration and an end-use certificate was unwarranted.

Conclusion: Confiscation and penalty were not sustainable, and the appeal was allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a commodity is classifiable as a raw material and no evidence shows insecticidal use, registration under the Insecticides Act cannot be insisted upon merely because the commodity appears in the insecticide schedule or is referred to in a departmental circular.

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