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TMI Blog2012 (9) TMI 921X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ect of ensuring the mandate of safe food imports into India. An importer can be allowed facilities for improving the quality of foodgrains, at the sole discretion of the Authorized Officer of Food Authority who is required to ensure that clearing/sorting of food grains can be done by the importer strictly under the supervision of the Customs in customs bonded area. - Decided against the petitioner. - W.P. No. 478 of 2012 - - - Dated:- 19-9-2012 - Indira Banerjee, J. Shri R.K. Chowdhury, Protyush Chatterjee Abhijit Chowdhury, Advocates, for the Petitioner. Shri Mokaram Hossain, Rajarshi Bharadwaj K.K. Maiti, Advocates, for the Respondent. JUDGMENT This writ petition is directed against the refusal of the Customs Authorities to allow clearance of a consignment of pulses (Toor Whole) imported by the petitioner company from Myanmar. 2. After arrival of the said consignment at the port of Kolkata on or about 28th January, 2012, the Petitioner Company filed Bill of Entry No. 587-7586/01/02/2012/N/H, dated 1st February, 2012 along with copies of the import documents including the Bill of Lading and invoice, for clearance of the same. 3. Section 25 of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Food Safety Act the Central Government has established Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, referred to, in short, as the Food Authority . 7. Under Section 16 of the Food Safety Act it is the duty of the Food Authority to regulate and monitor the manufacture, processing, distribution, sale and import of food so as to ensure safe and wholesome food. 8. The import of foodgrains to India is also regulated under the Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1940 and the Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003, hereinafter referred to as the PQ Order, issued thereunder. As per the PQ order it is mandatory to conduct the pests risk analysis of foodgrains before allowing clearance into the country. Moreover, import consignments of foodgrains are required to comply with certificate of phytosanitary norms as prescribed under the PQ order. 9. Notice of the Central Board of Excise and Customs, New Delhi, was drawn to instances where phytosanitary requirements were not properly being implemented in respect of the import of foodgrains into India and the matter was taken up with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Authority for effective and strict enforcem ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f of the petitioner submitted that there were major discrepancies between two different reports. As per the original test report dated 8th February, 2012, a copy of which was annexed at Page 43 of the writ petition, foreign matter content of the consignment was 1.05 (mineral matter 0.90 plus organic matter 0.12) as against the prescribed standard of 1% by weight. A second report was called for to verify, if there was foreign matter. As per the second test report foreign matter contained in the sample was 0.6 against the requirement of maximum 1%. 16. According to Mr. Chaudhury the customs ought to release the said consignment. According to Mr. Chaudhury in the second report prepared about 3 months and 20 days after the first test report, it was for the first time alleged that the sample was not free from dead insects, and rodent excreta and uric acid exceeded the maximum permissible limit. Mr. Chaudhury submitted that in the first report there was no finding of any dead insects and rodent excreta and it was improper storage of the samples that lead to such contamination. 17. The short question involved in this writ application is whether this Court can in an application under ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d to be adulterated. Section 2(xiia) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 defines the expression, primary food to mean any article of food, being a produce of agriculture or horticulture in its natural form. Section 5 of the Act provides that no person shall import into India - (i) any adulterated food; (ii) any misbranded food; (iii) any article of food for the import of which a licence is prescribed, except in accordance with the conditions of the licence; and (iv) any article of food in contravention of any other provision of the Act or of any rule made thereunder. It is, therefore, evident from the provisions of ss. 2 and 5 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 that what cannot be imported by anyone into the country is any adulterated food, and that a primary food, meaning thereby any article of food being a produce of agriculture or horticulture in its natural form, shall not be deemed to be adulterated within the meaning of sub-cl. (m) of cl (ia) of s. 2, where the quality or purity of the article has fallen below the prescribed standard or its constituents are present in quantities not within the prescribed limits of variability, in either case ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... en the same landed in India. 25. In my view, it is the time of clearance which is material for entire object of the restrictions is to ensure that sub-standard food, adulterated food, food mixed with foreign articles, food which is misbranded do not flood the Indian markets. 26. Mr. Chowdhury was also relied on a Government circular of the Food Authority containing ad hoc instructions related to re-sampling and re-testing of foodgrains including consignment of pulses by Authorized Officers of the Food Authority. The circular is extracted hereinbelow for convenience. In recent times, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been receiving many representations from food importers in India requesting re-sampling and re-testing of foodgrains including pulses being imported into India that have been found non-conforming to the standards prescribed under FSS (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulation, 2011 in respect of foreign matter, mineral matter and damaged grains. The matter has been considered keeping in view the objective of ensuring the mandate of safe food imports into India, and it has been decided not to relax the prescribed limits of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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