Stock lot classification in import policy cannot rest on non-tariff variations in GSM or size; detention was unjustified.

Imported paper consignments could not be treated as a stock lot merely because the goods varied in GSM and size. The Madras HC noted that the import policy used the meaning given in the DGFT trade notice, under which a stock lot exists only where different descriptions are bundled together or the consignment does not specify the required category-wise description. Because the goods were declared under the relevant eight-digit tariff entry for rolls, and the variation relied on by the authorities was not part of that tariff description, the goods could not be reclassified as a prohibited stock lot. Seizure and detention were therefore unjustified and release was directed.

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Issues: Whether the imported paper consignments could be treated as a stock lot so as to justify seizure and detention of the goods.

Analysis: The expression "stock lot" in the import policy carried the meaning assigned to it by the DGFT trade notice. On that clarification, imported paper would qualify as a stock lot only if the consignment lacked description for each category of paper or if paper of different descriptions had been bundled together. Chapter 48 of the import policy shows that classification turns on description of goods by the eight digit code. In the present case, the consignments were declared under the relevant eight digit entry for rolls, and the variation noticed by the authorities was only in GSM and size. That yardstick was not part of the relevant tariff description for rolls, and could not be used to reclassify the goods as stock lot.

Conclusion: The seizure and detention of the goods were not justified, and release was directed in favour of the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: A paper consignment is a "stock lot" only when different descriptions are bundled together or the consignment fails to specify the category-wise description required by the import code, and a criterion not contemplated by the tariff entry cannot be introduced to treat the goods as prohibited.

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