LegalAware
LegalAware.ai
EMPOWERING LEGAL AWARENESS

Union of India & Ors. v. Agricas LLP & Ors. (Pulses Import Restriction)

Transfer Petition (Civil) · 2020 INSC 508Decided 26 Aug 2020
Transfer Petition (Civil) Nos. 496-509 of 2020
Justice A.M. Khanwilkar · Justice Dinesh Maheshwari · Justice Sanjiv Khanna

Background

In March 2019, the Central Government issued notifications restricting the import of certain pulses, including peas and moong, and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued a related trade notice, citing concerns for domestic farmers' interests. A number of importers challenged these restrictions before different High Courts, arguing the government had exceeded its powers and acted contrary to the Foreign Trade Act's scheme, particularly its provision for "quantitative restrictions." To avoid conflicting rulings from different High Courts, the Union of India sought to have all these cases transferred to and consolidated before the Supreme Court, which agreed in June 2020 to hear and decide the common question itself.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined the interplay between Section 3(2) of the FTDR Act (the Central Government's general power to regulate imports) and Section 9A (a narrower, specific power to impose "quantitative restrictions" in defined circumstances), and held that Section 9A does not curtail or exhaust the government's broader power under Section 3(2): the two provisions operate independently. On that basis, the Court held the 2019 notifications and trade notice restricting pulse imports were validly issued under the government's general Section 3(2) power. It rejected importers' argument that reliance on earlier interim court orders protected their imports, noting most High Courts had already ruled against them and they had knowingly taken a commercial risk; any imports made relying on such interim orders would be treated as contrary to law and dealt with under the Customs Act. The Court expressly left open importers' separate statutory appeals against suspension/termination of their import-export codes, and dismissed the writ petitions underlying the transfer petitions, upholding the government's restrictions.

Lesson Learnt

The government retains broad, independent power to restrict imports for policy reasons (such as protecting domestic farmers), and a narrower statutory provision for one kind of restriction does not automatically limit the government's wider general powers; businesses that import goods relying only on interim court orders, rather than a final favourable ruling, do so at their own risk.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

More rulings in Tax & Customs Law

Tax & Customs LawSupreme Court of India

Mepco Industries Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income Tax, Madurai

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld treatment of this subsidy as a taxable revenue receipt. It applied the purpose test: the scheme had to be read as a whole to determine whether the assistance supported capital investment or the running of an established business. Here, payment tracked actual electricity charges incurred in production and was not earmarked for plant, machinery, factory construction or repayment of capital borrowing. The scheme's broad aim of industrial development did not override those operative features, and payment after production began was relevant to the overall scheme rather than decisive by itself.

Decided 7 Oct 2026Read case
Tax & Customs LawDelhi High Court

M/S Kuku Overseas vs. Commissioner of Customs & Anr.

The Court found the petitioner's non-disclosure of the earlier adjudication order was material, since the core premise of the petition (indefinite non-finalisation) no longer held true once formal orders existed. It held the petitioner now had an effective alternate remedy, a statutory appeal under Section 128(1) of the Customs Act, to raise all its arguments, including about delay, and declined to keep the writ petition pending just because a related Supreme Court case on delay in adjudication was ongoing. The writ petition was dismissed as not maintainable in its present form, with liberty to appeal.

Decided 6 Oct 2026Read case
Tax & Customs LawDelhi High Court

M/s Aparna Collection vs. Union of India & Ors. and connected matters

The Court rejected the argument that limitation under Section 74(2) must be measured from the date on Form GST DRC-01, because DRC-01 is only a summary of the show cause notice. On Section 74(10), the Court held that the statute requires the order, not the DRC-07, to be issued within the prescribed period, and that DRC-07 is a summary uploaded later under Rule 142. Because the petitioner had a statutory alternative remedy of appeal under Section 107, and the questions raised needed factual findings, the Court declined to decide the merits in writ jurisdiction. The petitions were disposed of, with liberty to appeal under Section 107 and to raise all contentions there, including limitation and exclusion of the time spent in these proceedings.

Decided 5 Oct 2026Read case
Tax & Customs LawSupreme Court of India

Additional Commissioner, Commercial Tax & Others v. Cadila Health Care Ltd. & Another

The Supreme Court dismissed the authorities' appeals and upheld the classification accepted by the High Court. It held that, under the statutory entries at issue, classification depended on the goods' form when sold, rather than what customers might later prepare with them. The beverage entry grouped beverages with syrups, cordials, juices and other liquid preparations, and did not expressly include powders used to make drinks. Packaging instructions and general tests of popular meaning or function could not expand that clear statutory description. Because the products did not fit the specific beverage entry, they belonged in the residual category; precedents involving differently worded entries or liquid products did not change that result.

Decided 5 Oct 2026Read case
Tax & Customs LawDelhi High Court

Zoom Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 25(1) & Anr.

The Court dismissed the writ petition. Except for the assessment year, the facts were identical to the earlier case, and the Court held that judicial discipline required it to follow the Coordinate Bench's decision in the petitioner's own case. The Court did not accept the petitioner's reliance on an interim order in another company's case, and noted that the earlier judgment in the petitioner's own case was final. The earlier judgment also left it to the Assessing Officer to examine, after the notice is answered, whether the Rs 82 lakh amount is a spurious transaction.

Decided 1 Oct 2026Read case
Tax & Customs LawDelhi High Court

Ms Devi Electronics Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner CGST Delhi South & Ors.

The High Court dismissed the petition. It held that the Commissioner could validly invoke Section 54(11), because an anti-evasion investigation was already underway when the impugned order was passed and the Commissioner had formed an opinion of fraud or malfeasance based on contemporaneous material. The Court held that the power to withhold refund is distinct from the adjudication and appellate scheme under Sections 73, 74 and 107, and that the absence of a statutory appeal does not bar judicial review. However, an appeal had already been filed before the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), so the Court declined to decide disputed factual questions and left all issues open before the GSTAT.

Decided 1 Oct 2026Read case