BIS Registration Requirement: Deferred order did not absolve pre-supersession imports; confiscation and penalty set aside.

BIS registration was required at the date of import (05.04.2025) under the Quality Control Order of 20.09.2024; the subsequent deferment by S.O. 2232(E) did not operate retrospectively to relieve pre supersession imports, so the regulatory obligation attached to the goods. The Tribunal treated the breach as procedural, noted absence of mens rea and that the goods remained importable subject to BIS certification by the manufacturer/exporter, and therefore set aside confiscation and penalty, imposing a redemption fine of Rs. 15,000 and directing release on payment within one week.

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Issues: (i) Whether registration with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) was required on the date of import (05.04.2025) and whether confiscation and penalty for non compliance with the Quality Control Order are justified.

Analysis: The Tribunal examined the sequence of Quality Control Orders: the Safety of Household, Commercial and similar Electrical Appliances Quality Control Order dated 20.09.2024 which required BIS registration at import, and the subsequent order S.O. 2232 (E) dated 19.05.2025 which deferred the effective date to 19.03.2026 and stated it superseded the earlier order "except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession." The goods were imported by bill of entry dated 05.04.2025, a date falling after the 20.09.2024 Order and before the deferred effective date set by S.O. 2232 (E). The Tribunal found that the requirement of BIS registration at the relevant time attached to the goods and that the subsequent deferment did not have retrospective effect to absolve acts done prior to supersession. However, the Tribunal also found the violation to be procedural in nature, noted absence of mens rea on the part of the importer, and observed that the goods were not prohibited but importable subject to BIS certification by the manufacturer/exporter.

Conclusion: The Tribunal concluded that although BIS registration was required at the time of import and the import fell within the regulatory requirement, the facts did not warrant confiscation or imposition of penalty. The Tribunal set aside the confiscation and penalty, imposed a redemption fine of Rs. 15,000, and directed release of the goods on payment of that fine within one week of certified copy of the order.

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