Open General Licence importability of ionisation smoke detectors upheld as sensors, not complete instruments.

Imported ionisation smoke detectors were treated as sensors rather than complete instruments where technical literature showed that they detected smoke and transmitted signals to a fire alarm control unit. Prior clearances of the same goods as sensors and the licensing authority's treatment of similar items under Open General Licence supported that classification, while the record did not substantiate the objection that the goods were self-contained instruments. The tariff description used by the importer did not create estoppel. On that basis, the goods were regarded as importable under Open General Licence and confiscation-based refusal of clearance was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the imported ionisation smoke detector was importable under Open General Licence as a sensor or component, or whether it was a complete instrument requiring a specific import licence and liable to confiscation.

Analysis: The imported item was shown by the technical literature to function as a smoke detector that sensed smoke and transmitted signals to the fire alarm control unit. The evidence also showed that the licensing authority treated similar goods as falling under Open General Licence, and prior clearances of the same item had been allowed as sensors. The objection that the item was a self-contained instrument was not supported by the record, and the appellants' tariff description did not operate as estoppel against them.

Conclusion: The item was held to be importable under Open General Licence as a sensor, not as a prohibited complete instrument, and the confiscation-based denial of clearance was unsustainable.

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