Actual User (Industrial) under import policy includes large-scale manufacturers; tug component imports need not be tied to small-scale registration.

The Actual User (Industrial) condition under the import policy covered industrial undertakings engaged in manufacture across large, small and cottage sectors, so registration as a Small Scale Industrial Unit was not mandatory. The import policy and Appendices 6 and 7 did not require a separate sponsoring authority for components imported to manufacture tugs, and the petitioners' heavy-industry registration, together with the Port Trust certificate and contract, showed genuine manufacturing use. The adverse import orders were therefore unsustainable, and the petition succeeded.

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Issues: Whether the petitioners, as manufacturers of tugs importing components under the import policy, were required to be registered as a Small Scale Industrial Unit to satisfy the Actual User (Industrial) condition for import under Open General Licence.

Analysis: The definition of Actual User (Industrial) in the Hand Book covered industrial undertakings engaged in manufacture, whether in the large scale, small scale, or cottage sector, and did not confine the benefit to units registered as small scale industries. The import policy and Appendix 6 did not impose a requirement that components imported for manufacture of tugs must be supported by sponsorship only through a specified sponsoring authority, nor did Appendix 7 compel classification of the petitioners as ship building or shipping industry merely because they manufactured tugs. The petitioners held a registration certificate from the Central Government as a heavy industry, and the contract with the Bombay Port Trust, together with its certificate that components were required for manufacture of tugs, established that the imports were genuine and for manufacturing purposes.

Conclusion: The petitioners satisfied the Actual User (Industrial) condition and were not required to be registered as a Small Scale Industrial Unit; the adverse orders were unsustainable and the petition succeeded.

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