Import contract registration cannot be refused on substantive policy grounds where the scheme permits only procedural scrutiny.

Where an import policy and Open General Licence required eligible importers to register contracts within the stipulated time and complete stamping before clearance, the registering authority had no implied discretion to refuse registration on substantive policy grounds. Refusal was permissible only for formal defects or non-compliance with the stated procedural requirements. An internal decision that the goods would not be allowed for a particular end use could not override the declared policy, which could be changed only through a duly notified amendment by the competent authority. On that construction, the refusal to register the contracts was unlawful and the importer was entitled to registration.

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Issues: Whether the Regional Development Commissioner could refuse registration of import contracts for items covered by the import policy and Open General Licence despite compliance with the prescribed requirements.

Analysis: The policy and the relevant condition required eligible importers to register contracts within the stipulated time and obtain stamping before clearance, but they did not confer any express discretion on the registering authority to decide the merits of the import or to refuse registration on policy grounds. The authority could refuse registration only for formal defects or non-compliance with the stated procedural requirements. A refusal based on an internal decision that the item would not be allowed for a particular end use amounted to an alteration of the declared policy, which could be done only through a duly notified amendment by the competent governmental authority. The construction that limits refusal to formal defects was also consistent with the protection of the right to carry on trade and business.

Conclusion: The refusal to register the import contracts was unlawful and could not be sustained; the petitioner was entitled to registration of the contracts.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a policy-driven registration requirement does not expressly confer discretion to refuse registration on substantive grounds, the registering authority may reject only for procedural or formal non-compliance and cannot, by internal decision, vary or override the policy itself without a duly notified amendment.

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