Karnataka High Court Upholds Union Government's Quality Control Measures On Plastic Imports

Karnataka, Jan 10 (KNN) The Karnataka High Court has declined to intervene in the Union government's decision to enforce quality control on the import of plastic raw materials by establishing standards.

The court emphasised “If the quality emerges right from the word go till the finished product under the ‘Make in India programme’, only then the country would be able to compete with others.”

“A step towards that will not be interfered with by this court except if the step towards that depicts palpable and demonstrable arbitrariness, which is neither pleaded nor present,” the court further added.

These remarks were made by Justice M. Nagaprasanna in his order dated January 8, where he dismissed a petition filed by two Bengaluru based Manufacturers’ Associations.

The petitioner-association raised objections to the quality control order issued in September 2021, which mandated that the import of specific polyethylene types, starting from January 5, 2024, must adhere to the Indian Standard (IS) mark as notified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) under the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018.

The petition contended that the imposition of standards on the supply of raw materials would impede the unrestricted movement and sale of the said raw material.

As per the petition, the insistence on quality control should have been directed towards the finished product rather than the raw material itself.

Additionally, Justice Nagaprasanna stated that the court cannot act as an armchair expert and intrude into the government's policies related to regulation, economics, and quality.

(KNN Bureau)