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Section17
The Customs Act, 1962

Assessment of duty

In force From 01 Feb 1963 Act 52 of 1962 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 52 of 1962 Ministry Finance Enacted 13 Dec 1962 In force 01 Feb 1963 Cited by 5 provisions Instruments 15

Section 17 of the Customs Act, 1962 deals with assessment of duty. An importer entering any imported goods under section 46, or an exporter entering any export goods under section 50, shall, save as otherwise provided in section 85, self-assess the duty, if any, leviable on such goods. The Act came into force on 01 Feb 1963.

1[17. Assessment of duty.--(1) An importer entering any imported goods under section 46, or an exporter entering any export goods under section 50, shall, save as otherwise provided in section 85, self-assess the duty, if any, leviable on such goods.

(2) The proper officer may verify 2[the entries made under section 46 or section 50 and the self-assessment of goods referred to in sub-section (1)] and for this purpose, examine or test any imported goods or export goods or such part thereof as may be necessary.

3[Provided that the selection of cases for verification shall primarily be on the basis of risk evaluation through appropriate selection criteria.]

4[(3) For 5[the purposes of verification] under sub-section (2), the proper officer may require the importer, exporter or any other person to produce any document or information, whereby the duty leviable on the imported goods or export goods, as the case may be, can be ascertained and thereupon, the importer, exporter or such other person shall produce such document or furnish such information.]

(4) Where it is found on verification, examination or testing of the goods or otherwise that the self- assessment is not done correctly, the proper officer may, without prejudice to any other action which may be taken under this Act, re-assess the duty leviable on such goods.

(5) Where any re-assessment done under sub-section (4) is contrary to the self-assessment done by the importer or exporter 6*** and in cases other than those where the importer or exporter, as the case may be, confirms his acceptance of the said re-assessment in writing, the proper officer shall pass a speaking order on the re-assessment, within fifteen days from the date of re-assessment of the bill of entry or the shipping bill, as the case may be.

7* * * * *

Explanation.--For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that in cases where an importer has entered any imported goods under section 46 or an exporter has entered any export goods under section 50 before the date on which the Finance Bill, 2011 receives the assent of the President, such imported goods or export goods shall continue to be governed by the provisions of section 17 as it stood immediately before the date on which such assent is received.]

Section 17, The Customs Act, 1962 (Act 52 of 1962).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

  1. s. 46 Entry of goods on importation
  2. s. 50 Entry of goods for exportation
  3. s. 85 Stores may be allowed to be warehoused without assessment to duty

Referred to by 5

  1. s. 18 Provisional assessment of duty
  2. s. 22 Abatement of duty on damaged or deteriorated goods
  3. s. 28 Recovery of duties not levied or not paid or short-levied or short-paid or erroneously refunded
  4. s. 59 Warehousing bond
  5. s. 128A Procedure in appeal

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.

  1. Union of India vs Devansh Overseas

    Supreme Court of India 23 Sep 2020 Binding (Supreme Court) Reportable Reportable

    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: Provides for self-assessment of duty by importers and power of proper officer to verify and reassess; reassessment under Section 17(4) only permissible where self-assessment is found to be incorrect

    Read the full order on eCourts India

  2. Union of India vs G. S. Chatha Rice Mills

    Supreme Court of India 23 Sep 2020 Binding (SC) Reportable (2020) 16 SCC 692 (Param Industries reference); Reportable

    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: Provides for self-assessment of duty by importers and power of reassessment by proper officer where self-assessment is not done correctly

    Read the full order on eCourts India

  3. Commissioner of Customs, Bangalore vs Gmr Energy LTD

    Supreme Court of India 27 Oct 2015 Binding (Supreme Court) with significant persuasive precedent Reportable

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    Where imported goods under a rotable exchange programme are valued at published catalogue prices that are list unit prices established worldwide without adjustment for return of used parts, and no 'sale' occurs under the agreement, the invoice value based on such catalogue prices constitutes the proper assessable value under customs law, and additional value corresponding to returned parts cannot be added merely because used parts are returned to the foreign supplier under the agreed rotable exchange programme, absent explicit evidence in the invoices themselves showing the prices were adjusted downward to account for such returns.

    On this section: Power of proper officer to require production of contracts and documents for determining value of imported goods

    Read the full order on eCourts India

  4. Designco v. Union of India & Ors.

    High Court 22 Nov 2024 Persuasive (High Court DB) — Customs MEIS recovery limits W.P.(C) 14477/2022 & connected (Delhi HC DB)

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    Analysed s.17 assessment architecture and held alleged ITC(HS) misclassification, without more, does not satisfy the collusion/suppression predicates needed to sustain the challenged MEIS recovery process.

    On this section: Applied Customs Act s.17 assessment/self-assessment framework — incorrect classification alone does not equate to collusion/suppression for reopening or s.28AAA.

    Read the full order on eCourts India

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.

Made under this section, and citing it

2 instruments state that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.

Another 13 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 17

What have the courts held on Section 17 of the Customs Act?

Union of India vs Devansh Overseas (23 Sep 2020) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Provides for self-assessment of duty by importers and power of proper officer to verify and reassess; reassessment under Section 17(4) only permissible where self-assessment is found to be incorrect. Another 3 judgments on this section are set out below, 3 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2015 to 2024.

How do I find court cases under Section 17 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 17, section 17 Customs Act 1962, section 17 of the Customs Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 4 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Union of India vs Devansh Overseas (23 Sep 2020).

What should I read with Section 17 of the Customs Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 46 (Entry of goods on importation), section 50 (Entry of goods for exportation), section 85 (Stores may be allowed to be warehoused without assessment to duty), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 5 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there are 2: most recently Notification No.40/2018-Cus(NT), dated 11.5.2018 (2018), then Notification No.44/2011-Cus(NT), dated 06.07.2011 (2011).

When did Section 17 of the Customs Act come into force?

Section 17 of the Customs Act, cited as Customs Act 1962 17, 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

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.