Broad tariff classification under export policy cannot be narrowed by trade notice; industrial valves remained eligible for FPS benefit.

Industrial valves classified under ITC (HS) Code 8481 were held to fall within Serial No. 269 of Appendix 37D, Table 1 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014 because the entry used a broad four-digit classification and its plain text covered taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances. The court reasoned that, where the policy intended to restrict incentives to a narrower product, it used a more specific code; the trade notice could not narrow the entry to bicycle parts alone or override the policy text. The contemporaneous MEIS treatment of Code 8481 supported this reading, and the trade notice was therefore unsustainable. Industrial valves were entitled to Focus Product Scheme benefit.

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Issues: Whether industrial valves falling under ITC (HS) Code 8481 were covered by Serial No. 269 of Appendix 37D, Table 1 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014 and entitled to Focus Product Scheme benefits, and whether the trade notice restricting the entry to bicycle parts alone was sustainable.

Analysis: The product code against Serial No. 269 was 8481, which is a broad Harmonised System classification covering taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances and is not confined to bicycle parts. Where the policy intended to limit incentive to a specific product within a broader heading, it used a more specific eight-digit code, but the impugned entry used only the four-digit classification. The textual description in the entry also could not sensibly be confined to bicycle parts, because it expressly referred to valves and similar appliances that are not bicycle items. The contemporaneous incentive regime under MEIS also treated ITC (HS) Code 8481 as eligible, supporting the construction that industrial valves were never intended to be excluded. The trade notice therefore could not override the policy entry.

Conclusion: The trade notice was unsustainable and industrial valves falling under ITC (HS) Code 8481 were covered by Serial No. 269 and entitled to FPS benefit.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a policy entry uses a broad tariff classification without a restrictive specific product code, the entry must be given its plain and comprehensive meaning and cannot be narrowed by an executive clarification contrary to the text.

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