Facts of the Case

This common order disposed of eight connected writ petitions filed by traders dealing in tobacco products such as Gutka and Pan Masala (including Mustafa Traders, Sri Devi General Stores, and others), each of whom challenged continuous police interference in their businesses, including registration of FIRs, despite holding valid licenses under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA) and being duly registered for and paying GST and other applicable taxes. The petitioners contended their businesses were lawful, particularly since a tobacco-prohibition notification issued under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA) had expired on 08.01.2021 and had, in any event, been stayed by the High Court in earlier proceedings (WP Nos. 16118/2020 and 15881/2020).

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the Commissioner of Food Safety, Andhra Pradesh, had jurisdiction under Section 30(2)(a) of the FSSA, 2006, to prohibit manufacture, storage, distribution, and sale of Gutka and Pan Masala (tobacco products), or whether such products fall exclusively within the regulatory domain of COTPA, 2003.
  2. Whether the police and enforcement authorities could continue to register FIRs and interfere with the petitioners' businesses despite the tobacco-prohibition notification having lapsed and the underlying legal question having already been decided against the State in a related batch of writ petitions.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioners were conducting lawful business strictly in compliance with COTPA, 2003, holding valid licenses and paying GST and all applicable taxes.
  • The tobacco-prohibition notification the police relied on had expired on 08.01.2021 and had also been stayed by the High Court in earlier proceedings.
  • Continuous interference, including registration of FIRs, in their lawful business activities was illegal, arbitrary, and violative of their fundamental rights under Articles 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution.

Respondent's Arguments

  • No fresh defence is recorded in this common order; the respondents' position had already been considered and rejected in the related batch of writ petitions (WP No. 30185 of 2021 and batch) decided on 24.03.2023, where the State had argued the FSSA, 2006, being a later and more specific enactment for 'food' (including chewing tobacco products), overrides COTPA, 2003.

Court Order / Findings

  • Applying its own common order dated 24.03.2023 in WP No. 30185 of 2021 and batch, the Court reiterated that COTPA, 2003 is the special Act specifically governing tobacco and tobacco products (including Pan Masala or any tobacco-containing chewing material), while the FSSA, 2006 is a general Act dealing with 'food'.
  • Since the Supreme Court's ruling in Godawat Pan Masala Products I.P. Ltd. v. Union of India still holds the field, Pan Masala/Gutka containing tobacco cannot be treated as 'food', and the Commissioner of Food Safety, Andhra Pradesh, was held to have neither authority nor jurisdiction to issue notifications banning such products under the FSSA.
  • Consequently, the seizure of tobacco products under the impugned notifications/FSSA was held bad in law, with a direction to release all seized products forthwith and to take no further coercive action against the licensed businesses.
  • Applying this precedent, the present batch of writ petitions was allowed in the same terms, with no costs.

Important Clarification

Although the petitioners' GST registration numbers are listed in each writ petition, GST plays no role whatsoever in the Court's reasoning — it is cited only to demonstrate that the traders were operating lawful, tax-registered businesses. The actual legal question decided is a conflict between two special statutes governing tobacco (COTPA, 2003) and food safety (FSSA, 2006) — a substantive holding, but entirely outside GST law.

Sections Involved

  • Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 — Sections 3(m) and 3(p)
  • Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 — Section 30(2)(a)

Decision – In Favour of

Decided in favour of the petitioners (tobacco traders) — all the writ petitions in this batch were allowed in terms of the earlier common order dated 24.03.2023, with no costs.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati
  • Case Nos.: WP Nos. 8367, 8378, 8396, 9382, 9416, 9421, 9431 of 2021 and WP No. 31710 of 2022 (Common Order)
  • Coram: Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Ninala Jayasurya
  • Date of Order: 27 April 2023

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