Bombay HC says QCO Exemption Cannot Be Denied for Delayed ARN Application

The Bombay High Court held that the Ministry of Steel could not impose an additional condition requiring an importer to obtain an Advance Registration Number (ARN) under the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) by 30 June 2026 to claim the transitional exemption from mandatory Quality Control Order (QCO) compliance. The exemption notification dated 8 April 2026 expressly used the “Shipped on Board” date as its qualifying criterion. Since the petitioner's consignments met that criterion and the ARN application was made within the registration window prescribed under the 19 February 2026 notice, the exemption could not be denied merely because the application was made after the cut-off date.