TAANISH ENTERPRISES Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The issue that arises for consideration in these writ petitions is about the categorisation of second-hand digital Multi-function Devices (MFDs), which have been imported by the respective petitioners and detained by the Customs Department for non-production of (a) Bureau of Indian Standards Certificate (BIS Certificate) and (b) authorisation from the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). The respective petitioners are seeking for provisional release of MFDs through these writ petitions.

(2.) In Import/Export Regulations, items are categorised as prohibited, restricted or freely importable. Prohibited items are completely banned, restricted items require specific authorisation or licenses, while freely importable items have no restrictions.

(3.) In the case on hand, the petitioners claim that MFDs are freely importable items, whereas the Customs Department claims that they are restricted items which require certification from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and prior authorisation from DGFT, before importing them. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), which has been impleaded in these writ petitions as a party respondent, claims that second-hand MFDs imported by the respective petitioners are prohibited items and therefore, provisional release under Sec. 110A of the Customs Act, 1962 (in short "the Act"), pending final adjudication, cannot be granted by the Customs Department.