Mandatory BIS certification for Hexane imports removed, making the petitions infructuous and the interim bonds releasable.

The mandatory BIS certification requirement for import of Hexane, Food Grade ceased to apply after Notification No. 24/2015-2020 dated 04.08.2022 removed it from the relevant list. As provisional assessment and out of charge had already been granted and final assessment was proceeding without insisting on the certificate, the importers' grievance no longer survived. Securities furnished through bonds and legal undertakings under the interim arrangement, which were taken only for provisional release, were therefore no longer required and were directed to be released. The petitions were treated as infructuous.

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Issues: Whether the petitions challenging insistence on a mandatory BIS certificate for import of Hexane survived after the DGFT notification removing that requirement, and whether the bonds furnished pursuant to the interim order were liable to be released.

Analysis: The import requirement complained of stood deleted by Notification No. 24/2015-2020 dated 04.08.2022, under which Hexane, Food Grade was removed from the list of items requiring mandatory BIS certification. The respondents also confirmed that provisional assessment and out of charge had already been granted in the relevant bills of entry and that final assessment was being completed without insisting on the BIS certificate. In that situation, the grievance raised in the petitions no longer survived. Since the interim arrangement had been secured by execution of bonds and legal undertakings only for the purpose of provisional release, those securities were no longer required to continue.

Conclusion: The petitions had become infructuous, the insistence on mandatory BIS certification was no longer sustainable, and the bonds furnished by the petitioners were directed to be released.

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