Duty-free shops must follow domestic laws

India's Bombay High Court has ruled that duty-free shops operating at airports are not exempt from the country's domestic regulatory laws, dismissing a challenge to a ban on the sale of imported nicotine pouches at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The court's decision on Tuesday held that goods imported into India must comply with the nation's laws, even when brought in for warehousing or re-export.

The petitioners, Mumbai Travel Retail Limited and Flemingo Dutyfree Shop Private Limited, had challenged the Drugs Controller General's ban on the sale of imported nicotine pouches under the brand names Zyn and Fox due to the absence of required licences. The high court stated that such goods would be governed by India's regulatory regime, regardless of the transaction's location within duty-free shops beyond customs barriers.

The court also emphasized that goods restricted or prohibited by any law would be treated as prohibited goods, subject to the full force of India's domestic regulatory framework within the country's territorial jurisdiction. However, the court did not decide whether tobacco-free nicotine pouches meet the definition of 'drugs' under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and directed the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation to clarify the issue.