The import of firecrackers is 'Restricted' under the ITC (HS) Classification of the Foreign Trade Policy and requires valid licences from both the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) under the Explosives Rules, 2008.
According to an official release from the Ministry of Finance, these containers were found to contain 83,520 pieces of Chinese firecrackers, mis-declared as engineering goods. The contraband, valued at Rs 5.01 crore, was seized along with cover cargo of silicon sealant guns.
These Chinese fireworks, weighing 100 metric tonnes, were illicitly imported in the name of a KASEZ unit and certain IEC holders, by misdeclaring them as goods such as "Mini Decorative Plants," "Artificial Flowers", and "Plastic Mats".