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Informist, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Wednesday said the government's 2016 notification introducing minimum import price for specified steel products for a period of six months would not apply to steel companies that had opened letters of credit for these products before Feb. 11, 2016, the date of publication of the notification in the official gazette. The court rejected the government's argument that the date of the notification was Feb. 5, 2016, and only a letter of credit opened before this date would not come under its purview.

 

"We accordingly hold that the notification issued under Section 3 of the (Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992) acquires the force of law only upon its publication in the Official Gazette. The expression 'date of this notification' must necessarily mean the date of such publication," said a bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe. "The appellants having opened irrevocable letters of credit prior to 11.02.2016 (Feb. 11, 2016) and having complied with procedural requirements under para 1.05(b) of the FTP (Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020) are clearly entitled to the benefit of transitional provision contained therein."

 

The top court was hearing an appeal from Viraj Impex Pvt. Ltd. and other steel companies against a Delhi High Court order in 2018 that had gone against them. Viraj Impex was engaged in the import and trading of mild steel items such as hot rolled coils and cold rolled coils. Prior to February 2016, these items could be imported freely.

 

Between Jan. 29, 2016, and Feb. 4, 2016, the petitioners entered into firm sale contracts with exporters from China and South Korea. On Feb. 5, 2016, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade uploaded a notification on its website, introducing minimum import price for specified steel products. The uploaded document itself contained an endorsement "To be published in the Official Gazette of India". The notification was gazetted on Feb. 11, 2016.

 

Thereafter, anticipating restriction, the petitioners on Feb. 8, 2016, applied for registration of their letters of credit under transitional protection contemplated by the Foreign Trade Policy. They later approached the high court, contending that the notification, having been published in the official gazette on Feb. 11, 2016, could not be applied to imports covered by letters of credit opened earlier. The court held that the notification would operate from Feb. 11, 2016, the date of its publication, but said uploading of the notification on Feb. 5, 2016, constituted sufficient notice to bind importers whose letters of credit were not opened before this date.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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