Madras HC stays apple imports from Nhava Sheva circular

Importers allege DGFT's move violates Constitutional guarantee and is arbitrary

The Madras High Court has granted a stay against a notification by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) restricting imports of apple only through Nava Sheva port in Maharashtra. The order was issued on a petition filed by a batch of eight importers in Chennai.

Eight importers, including from the South Indian Fresh Fruit Importers Association, have filed the petition alleging the DGFT notification revises the policy condition to restrict import of fresh apples through Nhava Sheva Port in Maharashtra.

As a result, the importers in Chennai were not able to import fresh apples, which has been contracted and dispatched, through the Port of Chennai.

"Incidentally, some importers in Cochin Port had moved Hon'ble High Court of Kerala challenging the notification wherein the Stay of the notification was granted and pending. Taking note of the said position and also that of an earlier writ petition in the Hon'ble High Court of Madras through Justice M M Sundaresh granted stay of the notification today," said B Satish Sundar, counsel appeared for the apple importers.

"The main, ports of import in the country are Chennai Seaport through which more than 50% of the imports in the country take place. Upto 47% of the imports are routed through Nhava Sheva Port and the balance 3%, are routed through the ports / ICDs in Kolkata, Cochin, Krishnapattnam, Kattupalli, Tuticorin, Delhi Air Cargo etc," said one of the petitions.

The main apple growing States, locally are in North India namely the State of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarkhand and Arunachal Pradesh. The major producers of apples in India are the States of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The cultivation is of negligible amount owing to the vagaries of the extreme weather conditions, they say.

They submitted that the availability of locally grown apples to the ultimate consumer in the State, has become onerous and unprofitable due to the huge transportation cost from the Northern States of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and the wholesale markets situated, in the said States and in Delhi. They added that the apples, grown in the said States, are of much inferior quality and subject to speedy decay and deterioration due to absence of cold chain management.

The harvesting season of apple in the States of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarkhand is only between July and November. Therefore, year around availability of local apples is, a fact which has to be accepted and not a myth. Therefore, imports of fresh apple, has become an economic necessity, they added.

They added that the notification of DGFT, at a time when the imports has been left as free till the time, is violative of the constitutional guarantee under Article 14 of the Constitution of India, as the importers except Maharashtra are at a clear disadvantage on importability of apples and the notification is arbitrary.