Specific spice classification governs cloves imports; general drugs entry cannot override the licensing requirement.

Cloves imported under the April 1990-March 1993 Import and Export Policy fell within the specific spice entry in Paragraph 167 of Chapter XIII, which expressly included cloves as items importable only against licence. Because the policy contained a specific provision for cloves, the general residual entry for drugs and drug intermediates in Item 169 of Part I of List 8, Appendix 6, could not be applied. The classification was also consistent with common parlance and trade understanding, under which cloves are treated as a spice rather than a drug or drug intermediate. Import without the required specific licence was therefore not permissible.

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Issues: Whether cloves imported under the April 1990-March 1993 Import and Export Policy fell under the specific entry for spices in Paragraph 167 of Chapter XIII or under the general entry for drugs and drug intermediates in Item 169 of Part I of List 8, Appendix 6.

Analysis: The import was governed by the 1990-93 Policy in force at the relevant time. Paragraph 167 specifically dealt with import of spices and expressly included cloves among the items importable only against licences. In the presence of this specific provision, the general residual entry for drugs and drug intermediates could not be invoked. The Court also accepted that in common parlance and trade commerce cloves are treated as a spice and not as a drug or drug intermediate.

Conclusion: Cloves were held to fall under the specific spice entry and not under the drugs or drug intermediates entry, so import without the required specific licence was not permissible.

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