Pre-shipment imports and BIS marking: quality control requirements cannot apply to goods shipped before the order took effect.

Imported stainless steel coils shipped before the Stainless Steel Products (Quality Control) Order, 2016 came into force could not be subjected to a BIS marking requirement that had not yet arisen at the time of dispatch. The date of import was to be reckoned under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020 by reference to the date of shipment from the supplying country. As the goods were shipped before the effective date of the order, confiscation and redemption fine were unsustainable, and the demand to affix BIS marking did not apply to the imported goods. The impugned orders were set aside and the appeals succeeded.

---

---

Issues: Whether imported stainless steel coils shipped before the commencement of the Stainless Steel Products (Quality Control) Order, 2016 could be confiscated for want of BIS marking.

Analysis: The goods were shipped in January 2017, while the Quality Control Order came into force on 07.02.2017. Under paragraph 2.17 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020, the date of import is to be reckoned with reference to the date of shipment or dispatch from the supplying country. Since the shipment predated the commencement of the Quality Control Order, the requirement to affix BIS marking had not arisen when the goods were dispatched.

Conclusion: The confiscation and redemption fine were unsustainable, and the demand to affix BIS marking was not applicable to the imported goods.

Final Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside and the appeals succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: A quality control requirement cannot be applied to goods already shipped before the relevant order comes into force where the governing trade policy reckons import by the date of shipment.

---