Market parlance controls import classification of cloves, and a separate licence was required for their lawful import.

Imported cloves were treated as spices, not as drugs or drug intermediates under the import-control policy, because classification turned on how the commodity was known in market parlance rather than on dictionary meanings or possible medicinal uses. The article also states that the policy separately required a specific import licence for cloves, and a broader licence could not be used to cover them through a residual entry. Earlier public notices and administrative practice were said not to override that specific policy requirement, so the import was not valid under the licence relied upon.

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Issues: Whether imported cloves fell within Item 169 in List 8 of Appendix 6 of the Import and Export Policy, April 1990 - March 1993 as "drugs/drug intermediates not elsewhere specified", and whether their import was permissible under the licence relied upon by the petitioner.

Analysis: The decisive test was how cloves were known in the market, not their description in dictionaries or pharmaceutical literature. On that basis, cloves could not be treated as drugs or drug intermediates merely because clove oil may be used in medicines or as an ingredient in certain medicinal products. They were held to be spices. The policy also separately required a specific licence for import of cloves under Chapter XIII, and the petitioner did not have such a licence. The earlier public notices and administrative practice could not override the policy requirement.

Conclusion: The import of cloves was not covered by Item 169 and was not valid under the licence relied upon; the position was against the petitioner and in favour of the Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: Classification for import-control purposes depends on market parlance, and where the policy specifically requires a separate licence for a named commodity, the commodity cannot be imported under a broader residual entry merely because it may have ancillary medicinal use.

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