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2015 Supreme(Del) 1395
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
VED PRAKASH VAISH, J.
PANCHSHIL INFRASTRUCTURE HOLDINGS PVT. LTD. - Petitioner
Versus
UOI & ORS. - Respondents
W.P.(C) 1998/2015
Decided On : 15-07-2015
Advocate Appeared:
For the Petitioner: Mr. Alok Yadav, Adv.
For the Respondents: Ms. Bharti Raju, CGSC
The main legal point established in the judgment is the importance of complying with sanitary requirements and food safety standards under the Livestock Importation Act and the Food Safety and Standards Act, emphasizing the need for testing to verify compliance.
Headnote:
Livestock Importation Act - NOC for Duty Paid Perishable Goods - Section 3A of Livestock Importation Act, 1898 - Summary of Acts and Sections: The court discussed the Livestock Importation Act, 1898 and the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It highlighted the provisions of Section 25 of the FSSA and Section 3A of the Livestock Importation Act, emphasizing the requirements for importation of livestock products and food safety standards.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner sought a NOC to clear duty paid perishable goods, Rostaa processed triangle cheese, imported from Egypt. The petitioner complied with all applicable laws and obtained an Import Permit and NOC from FSSAI. However, the authorities refused to issue the NOC, citing non-compliance with sanitary certificate requirements.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioner's goods arrived before the new notification came into force, and the labeling of the goods met the vegetarian requirements. However, it acknowledged the need for testing to verify the absence of animal rennet in the goods.
Issues: The issues revolved around the compliance with sanitary certificate requirements, import permit conditions, and the need for testing to ensure the absence of animal rennet in the goods.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the importance of complying with sanitary requirements and food safety standards under the Livestock Importation Act and the FSSA. It allowed the petitioner to conduct testing to verify compliance with the requirements.
Final Decision: The court disposed of the petition, granting the petitioner the liberty to allow the Central Government to take requisite samples of the goods for testing or conduct the tests through approved laboratories, with a directive to expedite the process within one month.
1. This is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to direct the respondents to issue a No Objection Certificate (hereinafter referred to as ‘NOC’) to allow clearance of duty paid on perishable goods- Rostaa processed triangle cheese that has been lying in the warehouse for more than four months.
2. Succinctly stating the facts of the present case leading to the present petition are that the petitioner is a company registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1956 and has its registered office at Tech Park One, Tower ‘E’, S. No. 191/A/2A/1/2 Yerwada, Pune. The petitioner is engaged in the hospitality business. In 2014, the petitioner in the course of its business sought to import Rostaa Processed Triangles Cheese (hereinafter referred to as ‘subject goods’) – ITC (HS) 04063000, from Egypt into India. In this regard, the petitioner purchased the subject goods from Al Nour for Dairy Industries, Egypt, who is engaged in the business of producing processed cheese under the supervision of the veterinary and exports the processed products to other countries. Section 3A of the Livestock Importation Act provides that the central government may by notification restrict the import of any live stock product which may affect the human or animal health. The term ‘Livestock Products’ has been defined to inter alia include milk and milk products. Vide notification S.O. 655 (E) dated July 7, 2001, the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (hereinafter referred to as ‘DADF’) has imposed certain restrictions on import of inter alia milk and milk products. Pursuant to the notification, import of milk and milk products is allowed only against a sanitary import permit issued by the DADF and after following the applicable procedure. A similar condition has also been provided in the Notification No. 18 (RE-2013)/2009-14 dated June 11, 2013 issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The Livestock Import Notification also specifies the procedure pursuant to which the sanitary import permit would be issued by DADF.
3. The petitioner in due compliance with the applicable laws applied for a certificate to the DADF for import of the subject goods and filed an application describing the product sought to be imported and mentioned that the livestock product would be produced in Egypt. In response, DADF, Ministry of Agriculture issued Permit Letter No. 0697/2014/ DADF dated 26.05.2014 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Import Permit’) and allowed the petitioner to import the subject goods from Egypt into India. The Import Permit required that the consignment should be accompanied by an official sanitary certificate issued by the authorized officer from the country of origin i.e. Egypt. The said official certificate was also required to include a declaration inter alia stating ?may be allowed as per sanitary conditions given in the attached sanitary certificate for import of milk and milk products into India. On 10.09.2014, the consignment of the subject goods arrived at the Nhava Sheva Port. The consignment was accompanied with all relevant documents including the sanitary certificate dated 05.08.2014 issued by Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation General Organization for Veterinary Services, under Secretary of State for Veterinary Affair, Veterinary Quarantine Department (Tenth of Ramadan City) by an authorized veterinarian – Veterinary Quarantine Department Manager. On 25.09.2014, the authorized officers of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (hereinafter referred to as ‘FSSAI’) undertook the necessary sampling and physical verification of the shipment. The concerned officers found the subject goods ‘Fit for use’ and in conformity to the applicable standards post the physical and technical examination. Consequently, FSSAI issued the NOC. In the said certificate, FSSAI clearly specified as under:
“This office has no objections if this consignment is released from this port as the result(s) of the a
