Hate to say it, Roslyn, but the AHJ ("inspector" get to make the call. That's his job.
Now, inspectors (despite assertions to the contrary) are human, and may err, or be incompletely informed, just like the rest of us. The polite thing to do in that case is to research the issue, and persent him with the answer to his concern.
I just installed some Halo fixtures, and was surprised to see that they now come with a gasket. Reading the fine print of the instructions, I found:
"For State of Washington approved Air-Tite (R) housings- apply supplied gasket to ceiling and wrap around inside of housing..."
In other words, the install has to follow the directions. Different rules are likely with differing fixtures, or in different jurisdictions.
