Firm contract registration before the policy cut-off upheld eligibility for import clearance under the earlier import policy.

Import of chilled cast iron rolls was treated as covered by Paragraph 7 of Appendix 10 of the AM 1982-83 Policy because a firm contract had been registered with the bank before 28-2-1983. The documents showed an order confirmation in January 1983, a revised confirmation dated 2-2-1983 registered with the bank on 10-2-1983, and bank acknowledgment of the letter of credit request in February 1983. The later confirmation dated 26-4-1983 was viewed only as a fresh confirmation to ensure unchanged sale terms for opening the letter of credit. The longer delivery schedule supported shipment up to 31-3-1984, so clearance under the earlier policy was allowed.

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Issues: Whether the import of chilled cast iron rolls was covered by Paragraph 7 of Appendix 10 of AM 1982-83 Policy on the basis of a firm contract registered with the bank before 28-2-1983, despite shipment and letter of credit being completed during the 1983-84 policy period.

Analysis: The documents showed an order confirmation in January 1983 with a delivery schedule of 8 to 10 months, a revised confirmation dated 2-2-1983 registered with the bank on 10-2-1983, and the bank's acknowledgment that the request for opening the letter of credit had been received in February 1983. The later confirmation dated 26-4-1983 was treated as a fresh confirmation obtained only to ensure that the sale terms had not changed for opening the letter of credit. On these facts, the condition requiring a firm contract registered with the bank before 28-2-1983 and shipment permitted up to 31-3-1984 because of a longer delivery period was held to be satisfied.

Conclusion: The import was held to fall within Paragraph 7 of Appendix 10 of AM 1982-83 Policy and was therefore entitled to clearance under that policy.

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