Outbound fliers can buy cigarettes sans picture warning

Despite a ban on sale of cigarettes without pictorial warnings in the country, the Supreme Court Friday allowed their sale to outgoing passengers by the duty-free outlets at departure lounges of Indian airports.
Approving the sale, a bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice Deepak Verma and Justice T.S. Thakur ordered the release of international brand cigarettes worth Rs.75 lakh, seized by custom authorities from outlets at departure lounges of Mumbai international airport, for not carrying the pictorial warning.
The bench gave its order on a lawsuit by the DFS India Private Ltd, which has been given the license to set up duty-free shops at various international airports in the country.
The private firm had come to the apex court challenging a recent Bombay High Court refusal to order custom authorities to release their stocks of cigarettes, which were without the statutory pictorial warning.
The apex court bench gave the firm the relief, acceding to senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi's argument that the cigarettes being sold at duty-free outlets to outbound passengers at departure lounges of India's international airports are akin to the export of cigarettes.
Cigarettes, manufactured and meant for export, are exempt from the domestic laws for having statutory pictorial warning of cancer-hit lungs printed on their packets.
12/03/10 IANS/Sify.com

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Categories: Foreign Mar 2010, Indian Aviation- In General Mar 2010