CHENNAI: Pakistan has lost its battle to obtain the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag for basmati rice, owing to its failure to play by mandatory rules.Lahore-based Basmati Growers Association (BGA) had moved Intellectual Property Appellate Board here, challenging the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority's (APEDA) application seeking GI tag for basmati rice cultivated in seven states - Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab and J&K -in India.More importantly, BGA opposed grant of GI tag basmati to India “in totality“. It argued that the assistant registrar of GI in Chennai had “gravely erred that rice produced in area region of Madhya Pradesh, or for that matter any part of India can bear the basmati tag“, the appeal added. On Friday , however, IPAB rejected the arguments saying BGA had “miserably failed“ to comply with the rules.After APEDA's application was advertised in the GI journal in May 2010, BGA served it a notice. Even though it received a counter-affidavit to its notice and in spite of two extensions, BGA failed to provide evidence supporting its opposition - within the prescribed time and format - under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. So the registry rejected the opposition as 'abandoned' on December 31, 2013, IPR attorney P San jai Gandhi said.BGA moved IPAB, challenging the registry's order BGA's counsel said the association filed its evidence “diligently“ and it was APEDA that countered with missing documents.Underlining the requirement for strict compliance of rules, APEDA's counsel said BGA's “explanation was an afterthought and an excuse to cover up gross negligence“. A bench of chair man Justice K N Basha and technical member (trade marks) Sanjeev Kumar Chaswal said there was no explanation to justify the delay for filing its evidence.