Permissible spares under import policy prevail where chilled cast iron rolls are not specifically excluded from OGL clearance.

Chilled cast iron is treated as a form of cast iron, not a wholly separate commodity, because it remains within the cast iron family despite differences in structure and properties. Chilled cast iron rolls imported as spare parts for flour mill machinery were not covered by Appendix 3, Sl. No. 446 of the Import Policy, 1983-84, since that entry did not specifically include such spares. The imports fell within Appendix 10(4) as permissible spares not included in the excluded appendices, and were therefore entitled to OGL clearance. The broader description of cast iron in another appendix did not displace the specific treatment of the goods as permissible spares.

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Issues: (i) Whether chilled cast iron is distinct from cast iron; (ii) Whether chilled cast iron rolls imported as spares fall within Appendix 3, Sl. No. 446 of the Import Policy, 1983-84; (iii) Whether the imports are covered by Appendix 10(4), alternatively by Appendix 10(2), of the Import Policy, 1983-84.

Issue (i): Whether chilled cast iron is distinct from cast iron.

Analysis: Chilled iron was treated as a form of cast iron, not as a wholly separate commodity. Technical material showed that chilled iron is produced by a cooling process and remains within the larger family of cast irons, though it may differ in structure and properties from other forms of cast iron.

Conclusion: Chilled cast iron is not wholly different from cast iron; it is a form of cast iron.

Issue (ii): Whether chilled cast iron rolls imported as spares fall within Appendix 3, Sl. No. 446 of the Import Policy, 1983-84.

Analysis: Appendix 3 covered raw materials, components, consumables, tools and spares other than iron and steel and ferro-alloys, while Sl. No. 446 referred to cast iron and cast steel rolls for industrial use. The imported goods were declared and accepted as spare parts for flour mill machinery, and the entry in Appendix 3 did not specifically bring such spares within its scope.

Conclusion: The imported chilled cast iron rolls, as spares, were not hit by Appendix 3, Sl. No. 446.

Issue (iii): Whether the imports are covered by Appendix 10(4), alternatively by Appendix 10(2), of the Import Policy, 1983-84.

Analysis: Appendix 10(4) permitted import of permissible spares not included in Appendices 3, 4, 15 and 30, and the imports satisfied that description. The alternative reliance on Appendix 10(2) was unnecessary once the goods were found to be permissible spares under Appendix 10(4).

Conclusion: The imports were covered by Appendix 10(4) and were entitled to clearance under OGL.

Final Conclusion: The confiscation and redemption-based rejection of the import claim could not be sustained, and the imported spares were directed to be returned to the appellants.

Ratio Decidendi: Where imported goods are in substance permissible spares and are not specifically excluded by the relevant prohibited entries, they are eligible for OGL clearance notwithstanding a broader description of the underlying material in another appendix.

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