Import restrictions on used multifunction devices require compliance with waste rules and permissions before provisional release is considered.

Import of used multifunction printing and copying machines was treated as subject not only to Customs law but also to the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016. The Court noted that compliance with Rule 13(2) and Schedule VIII documentation and conditions was required, and that Rule 15 treated import without the necessary permission as unlawful. As authorisation had not been completed and adjudication was still pending before the original authority, provisional release was refused and the matter was left for decision by the adjudicating authority.

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Issues: Whether provisional release of detained imported multifunction devices pending adjudication was warranted in the face of the import conditions under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 and the foreign trade restrictions.

Analysis: The import of used multifunction printing and copying machines was governed not merely by the Customs framework but also by the 2016 Wastes Rules, under which such goods fell within the scheme regulating import of other wastes. The Court noted that the applicable regime required compliance with the prescribed documentation and conditions under Rule 13(2) and Schedule VIII, and also referred to Rule 15, which treated import or export of specified goods without the necessary permission as illegal. In view of the regulatory framework, the absence of completed authorisation, and the fact that the original authority had not yet adjudicated the matter, the Court declined to order provisional release.

Conclusion: Provisional release was refused and the matter was left to be decided by the adjudicating authority.

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