Import policy limits on spares: independent lubricating oil pumps required a specific licence, not Open General Licence coverage.

Imported turbine-driven and motor-driven lubricating oil pumps were held not to qualify as permissible spares under Open General Licence because paragraph 55A(i) of Import Policy A.M. 80 covered only parts needed for operation and maintenance of capital goods. The pumps were treated as independent units, not parts or sub-assemblies of the compressor, and the record lacked catalogue or other material showing they formed part of the original plant or integral replacement items. A later public notice did not change the position for the imports concerned. A specific import licence was therefore required, and confiscation with redemption fine was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the imported turbine-driven and motor-driven lubricating oil pumps were permissible "spares" eligible for import under Open General Licence, or were complete units requiring a specific import licence.

Analysis: Under paragraph 55A(i) of the Import Policy A.M. 80, only those parts required as spares for operation and maintenance of the capital goods could be imported under Open General Licence. The pumps imported by the appellants were found to be independent units and not parts or sub-assemblies of the compressor. The record did not contain the manufacturer's catalogue or other supporting material to show that the original plant included such pumps or that they were integral replacement items. In these circumstances, the pumps could not be treated as permissible spares, and the later public notice did not alter that position for the imports in question.

Conclusion: The imported goods were not spares within the import policy and required a specific import licence; the confiscation and redemption fine were upheld.

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