Dutiable goods
Section 12 of the Customs Act, 1962 deals with dutiable goods. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, or any other law for the time being in force, duties of customs shall be levied at such rates as may be specified under the [Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975)], or any other law for the time being in force, on goods imported into, or exported from, India. The Act came into force on 01 Feb 1963.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, or any other law for the time being in force, duties of customs shall be levied at such rates as may be specified under the 1[Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975)], or any other law for the time being in force, on goods imported into, or exported from, India.
2[(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall apply in respect of all goods belonging to Government as they apply in respect of goods not belonging to Government.]
Section 12, The Customs Act, 1962 (Act 52 of 1962).
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Bharat Petroluem Corporation LTD vs Commissioner of Customs (import), Mumbai
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The quantity of goods to be assessed for customs duty purposes is the actual quantity of goods physically imported and received at the place of importation in India (at the shore tanks at Indian ports), not the quantity stated in the bill of lading from the country of export. This is because: (a) the taxable event under Section 12 of the Customs Act is 'importation', which is complete only when goods become part of the land mass within India and are cleared for home consumption; (b) Sections 13 and 23 establish that duty is not payable on goods lost, pilfered, or destroyed before clearance for home consumption; (c) Section 14 requires valuation 'at the time and place of importation'; (d) the Customs Valuation Rules' definition of 'transaction value' refers to goods 'actually imported'; and (e) whether customs duty is levied at a specific rate or on an ad valorem basis does not change this fundamental principle.
On this section: Establishes the primary rule that duties of customs shall be levied on goods imported into India, thereby making importation into India the taxable event.
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Sundaresh Bhatt vs Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Once moratorium is imposed under Sections 14 or 33(5) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, the Customs authority has only limited jurisdiction to assess and determine the quantum of customs duty and other levies. The Customs authority does not have the power to initiate recovery of dues by means of sale or confiscation as provided under the Customs Act. After such assessment, the Customs authority must submit its claims in accordance with the procedure laid down in the IBC and in strict compliance with prescribed time periods before the adjudicating authority. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code overrides the Customs Act to this extent, and the Liquidator can immediately secure goods from the Customs authority to be dealt with appropriately under the IBC. Additionally, the Liquidator has discretion in choosing the mode of sale of corporate assets (auction or private contract), and no vested right accrues to any bidder merely by participation in a bidding process; the Liquidator's commercial decisions regarding asset sales are not subject to judicial review.
On this section: Provides for levy of customs duty on imported goods
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Siddachalam Exports Private LTD vs Commissioner of Central Excise Delhi-iii
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The procedure prescribed under Section 14(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 and Rule 4 of the Customs Valuation (Determination of Price of Imported Goods) Rules, 1988 must be strictly adhered to for determining the value of goods entered for exportation, irrespective of whether any duty is leviable. Once the transaction value is challenged, the Revenue must bear the burden of proving mis-valuation by sequentially proceeding through Rules 5 to 8, with market enquiry permissible only as a last resort after exhausting alternative methods. Deviation from this mandatory statutory procedure vitiates the proceedings and warrants remand for fresh adjudication in accordance with law.
On this section: The substantive statutory scheme under which the exporter claimed drawback of Rs. 49,75,536/-
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New India Assurance Co. Ltd. vs M/s. Mudit Roadways
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An insurance company is legally barred from raising additional or new grounds to defend its claim rejection beyond those explicitly detailed in its letter of repudiation. Furthermore, if the insured is not the instigator of a fire, the exact origin of the fire is immaterial to the insurer's liability to indemnify.
On this section: Interpreted to establish that customs remission and abatement provisions apply to importers, not to the custodian licensee, who remains liable under warehousing regulations.
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Union of India vs G. S. Chatha Rice Mills
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A notification issued under Section 8A of the Customs Tariff Act 1975 increasing import duty takes effect prospectively from the time it is published in the e-Gazette, not from the commencement of the day on which it is issued. The rate of duty applicable to imported goods entered for home consumption is determined with reference to the date and time of presentation of the bill of entry under Section 15 of the Customs Act 1962 read with Regulation 4(2) of the Bill of Entry Regulations 2018. Bills of entry presented before the notification is published in the e-Gazette are assessed at the rate of duty in force at the time of their presentation. Subordinate legislation issued under Section 8A cannot have retrospective effect unless the parent statute expressly or by necessary implication authorizes it. The General Clauses Act 1897 Section 5(3) does not apply to delegated legislation. In the electronic age, the precise time of publication of notifications in e-gazettes and the precise time of filing of bills of entry on the customs automated system are legally significant for determining the applicable rate of duty.
On this section: Charging provision for levy of customs duties at rates specified in the Customs Tariff Act
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Union of India vs Devansh Overseas
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A notification issued under Section 8A of the Customs Tariff Act 1975 increasing import duty takes effect prospectively from the precise time of its publication in the e-gazette and cannot apply retrospectively to bills of entry presented before such publication. The rate of duty applicable to imported goods entered for home consumption under Section 46 of the Customs Act 1962 is determined with reference to the date and time of presentation of the bill of entry as crystallized by the deeming fiction in Regulation 4(2) of the Bill of Entry (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations 2018. Once a bill of entry is deemed to have been presented and self-assessment completed under Regulation 4(2), the rate of duty stands crystallized and cannot be altered by a subsequently issued notification. Customs authorities cannot reassess bills of entry under Section 17(4) on the basis of a subsequently issued notification where the self-assessment was correctly done at the time of presentation based on the rate of duty then in force.
On this section: Charging provision for levy of customs duties at rates specified in the Customs Tariff Act
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Aban Offshore LTD vs Commnr. of Customs (import)
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A foreign-going vessel which enters Indian territorial waters temporarily for the purpose of undergoing repairs and which is subsequently removed from Indian territorial waters does not constitute goods imported into India for home consumption merely by reason of such entry and repair. The completion of the act of importation requires not only that the goods enter Indian territorial waters, but also that they satisfy the requirement of being intended for primary use in India (home consumption). Mere repair of a vessel does not constitute putting the vessel to use or utility in India, and therefore does not satisfy the home consumption requirement. Consequently, customs duty is not chargeable on a foreign-going vessel that enters Indian territorial waters solely for repair purposes, despite such entry technically constituting the commencement of importation. However, foreign-going vessels remain subject to the procedural and regulatory compliance requirements of the Customs Act upon entering Indian territorial waters, and violation of these procedural provisions (such as failure to file appropriate documents or deliver import manifests) remains actionable even absent the completion of import.
On this section: Section 12 begins with 'Except as otherwise provided' giving primacy to other provisions. Court held that duty is not levied under Section 12 if other conditions like home consumption are not satisfied.
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Hillman Woolen CO vs Union of India
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An exemption notification under the Customs Act that enlarges the scope of an earlier exemption notification by including a new duty introduced after the original notification cannot be treated as retrospective merely because the underlying international treaty predates the new duty. A notification is clarificatory only if the earlier notification remotely suggested the exemption. When a new duty is introduced by statute after a treaty is signed, a subsequent notification granting exemption from that new duty is prospective in operation and does not retroactively apply to periods before the notifying act, unless the notification explicitly provides for retrospectivity or there is clear evidence of rectification of a proven mistake or omission. The Customs Act, 1962 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 are independent statutes with independent duty regimes; basic customs duty, additional duty equal to excise duty, and special additional duty are three distinct levies under Sections 2, 3 and 3A respectively.
On this section: Identified as the main charging section imposing customs duties; applied to understand the incidence of duty under customs law
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Mustan Taherbhai vs Commnr. of Central Excise & Customs
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a tribunal or court has been specifically directed by the Supreme Court to reconsider a matter by first establishing the foundational facts and then applying law in light of those facts, the tribunal must comply with such directions through fresh and genuine consideration, notwithstanding its earlier views on the matter. In cases involving customs duty on Indian-manufactured vessels where excise duty has been paid at original clearance, the question of applicability of subsequent customs notifications and the legal fiction doctrine requires evaluation against the actual facts that the vessel was manufactured and cleared in India with excise duty payment, not merely applying legal fictions created by notifications without factual foundation. The Tribunal's failure to comply with supreme court remand directions constitutes vitiation of decision.
On this section: Liability of importer to pay customs duty; cited by Revenue regarding bonded warehouse goods clearance
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… entitles importer to have the goods cleared upon payment of the duty which is accepted as correct in the self-assessment proceedings, following the due presentation of the bill of entry under Section 46 read with Rule 4(2) of the 2018 Regulations. In conjunction with the mandate of charging section contained in Section 12 and Section 15 of the Customs Act which fixes the date according to the rate of duty as the date of presentation of the bill of entries, could it certainly not be said that the law would abhor the reopening of transactions which have culminated in proceedings which are otherwise impeccably correct and regular. …
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… entitles importer to have the goods cleared upon payment of the duty which is accepted as correct in the self-assessment proceedings, following the due presentation of the bill of entry under Section 46 read with Rule 4(2) of the 2018 Regulations. In conjunction with the mandate of charging section contained in Section 12 and Section 15 of the Customs Act which fixes the date according to the rate of duty as the date of presentation of the bill of entries, could it certainly not be said that the law would abhor the reopening of transactions which have culminated in proceedings which are otherwise impeccably correct and …
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… goods which are produced or manufactured, (i) in a free trade zone and brought to any other place in India; or (ii) by a hundred per cent exportoriented undertaking and allowed to be sold in India, shall be an amount equal to the aggregate of the duties of customs which would be leviable Under Section 12 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), on like goods produced or manufactured outside India if imported into India, and where the said duties of customs are chargeable by reference to their value; the value of such excisable goods shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act, be …
Made under this section, and citing it
2 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 12
What have the courts held on Section 12 of the Customs Act?
Bharat Petroluem Corporation LTD vs Commissioner of Customs (import), Mumbai (02 Sep 2015) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Establishes the primary rule that duties of customs shall be levied on goods imported into India, thereby making importation into India the taxable event. Another 8 judgments on this section are set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2011 to 2023.
How do I find court cases under Section 12 of the Customs Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Customs Act 1962 12, section 12 Customs Act 1962, section 12 of the Customs Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 9 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Bharat Petroluem Corporation LTD vs Commissioner of Customs (import), Mumbai (02 Sep 2015).
What should I read with Section 12 of the Customs Act, and has it changed?
2 instruments name it without being made under it, most recently Testing of samples of Hazardous wastes from the laboratories recognised under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986- Circular No.9/2009-Customs, dated 23.2.2009 (2009), then Re-import of exported goods - Duty leviability explained. - Circular No.61/1995-Customs, dated 6.6.9506 (1995).
When did Section 12 of the Customs Act come into force?
Section 12 of the Customs Act, cited as Customs Act 1962 12, came into force on 01 Feb 1963, having been enacted on 13 Dec 1962. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 28. Recovery of duties not levied or not paid or short-levied or short-paid or erroneously refunded2145 words
- 2. Definitions1638 words
- 129A. Appeals to the Appellate Tribunal1170 words
- 27. Claim for refund of duty1060 words
- 127C. Procedure on receipt of an application under section 127B1056 words
- 138C. Admissibility of micro films, facsimile copies of documents and computer print outs as documents and as evidence872 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.