Prior irrevocable letter of credit protects covered imports from a later restriction, but only within its actual scope and validity.

A later import restriction cannot override a prior irrevocable letter of credit unless the restriction has been reasonably published and made effective to the public. Under paragraph 1.3 of the Export and Import Policy, imports covered by an irrevocable letter of credit established before the restriction remain protected, but only for shipment within the credit's original validity. That protection is limited to the quantity actually covered by the letter of credit and does not extend to additional contracted goods beyond its monetary scope. The shipment period may be enlarged only to the limited extent directed for the covered quantity.

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Issues: (i) Whether an import restriction introduced by notification could defeat a prior irrevocable letter of credit before the notification was made publicly available; (ii) whether the importer could claim the benefit of the export-import policy for the full contracted quantity despite the letter of credit covering only a lesser monetary value, and whether the validity period of the letter of credit could be extended for the purpose of shipment.

Issue (i): Whether an import restriction introduced by notification could defeat a prior irrevocable letter of credit before the notification was made publicly available.

Analysis: Paragraph 1.3 of the Export and Import Policy protected imports that were freely permitted when an irrevocable letter of credit had been established before the date of imposition of a later restriction, provided shipment was made within the original validity of the letter of credit. The relevant restriction, being a delegated measure, had to be made known to the public by reasonable publication before it could operate against affected persons. A notification dated 25.11.2003, though issued on that date, was treated as having become effective for the public only when made available on 27.11.2003. In that setting, the importer who had opened the letter of credit on 25.11.2003 could not be denied the policy protection merely because the printed date of the notification was earlier.

Conclusion: The importer was entitled to the benefit of paragraph 1.3 of the Export and Import Policy against the later restriction.

Issue (ii): Whether the importer could claim the benefit of the export-import policy for the full contracted quantity despite the letter of credit covering only a lesser monetary value, and whether the validity period of the letter of credit could be extended for the purpose of shipment.

Analysis: The protection under paragraph 1.3 was confined to the irrevocable letter of credit actually established. The contractual quantity exceeded the monetary coverage of the letter of credit, so the importer could not claim the benefit for goods beyond the amount secured by that instrument. On the timing issue, the Court granted exclusion of the winter vacation period while considering the validity of the letter of credit, thereby extending the effective time available for shipment within the covered amount.

Conclusion: Relief was confined to the quantity covered by the irrevocable letter of credit, and the shipment period was extended only to the limited extent directed by the Court.

Final Conclusion: The petition succeeded only in part: the import restriction did not defeat the covered letter of credit, but the importer's entitlement was restricted to the amount secured under that letter of credit, with the shipment period correspondingly enlarged for that limited purpose.

Ratio Decidendi: A later import restriction cannot operate against a prior irrevocable letter of credit unless the restriction has been reasonably published, but the resulting protection extends only to the goods covered by that letter of credit.

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