Duties collected from the buyer to be deposited with the Central Government
Section 28B of the Customs Act, 1962 deals with duties collected from the buyer to be deposited with the Central Government. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any order or direction of the Appellate Tribunal [, National Tax Tribunal] or any Court or in any other provision of this Act or the regulations made thereunder, [every person who is liable to pay duty under this Act and has collected any amount The Act came into force on 01 Feb 1963.
1[28B. Duties collected from the buyer to be deposited with the Central Government.--(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any order or direction of the Appellate Tribunal 2[, National Tax Tribunal] or any Court or in any other provision of this Act or the regulations made thereunder, 3[every person who is liable to pay duty under this Act and has collected any amount in excess of the duty assessed or determined or paid on any goods under this Act from the buyer of such goods] in any manner as representing duty of customs, shall forthwith pay the amount so collected to the credit of the Central Government.
4[(1A) Every person who has collected any amount in excess of the duty assessed or determined or paid on any goods or has collected any amount as representing duty of customs on any goods which are wholly exempt or are chargeable to nil rate of duty from any person in any manner, shall forthwith pay the amount so collected to the credit of the Central Government.]
5[(2) Where any amount is required to be paid to the credit of the Central Government under 6[sub-section (1) or sub-section (1A), as the case may be,] and which has not been so paid, the proper officer may serve on the person liable to pay such amount, a notice requiring him to show cause why he should not pay the amount, as specified in the notice to the credit of the Central Government.
(3) The proper officer shall, after considering the representation, if any, made by the person on whom the notice is served under sub-section (2), determine the amount due from such person (not being in excess of the amount specified in the notice) and thereupon such person shall pay the amount so determined.
(4) The amount paid to the credit of the Central Government under 7[sub-section (1) or sub-section (1A) or sub-section (3) as the case may be,] shall be adjusted against the duty payable by the person on finalisation of assessment or any other proceeding for determination of the duty relating to the goods referred to in 8[sub-section (1) and sub-section (1A).]
(5) Where any surplus is left after the adjustment made under sub-section (4), the amount of such surplus shall either be credited to the Fund or, as the case may be, refunded to the person who has borne the incidence of such amount, in accordance with the provisions of section 27 and such person may make an application under that section in such cases within six months from the date of the public notice to be issued by the Assistant Commissioner of Customs for the refund of such surplus amount.]
Section 28B, 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
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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Commnr. of Central Excise, Meerut vs Bharat Petroleum Corpn. LTD
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An appeal under Section 35-L(b) of the Central Excise Act, 1944, is maintainable only when it involves determination of any question having relation to the rate of duty of Excise or to the value of goods for the purpose of assessment. A question concerning whether a dealer (as opposed to a manufacturer) is liable to pay excise duty does not relate to the rate of duty or value of goods and therefore falls outside the appellate jurisdiction conferred by Section 35-L(b). Consequently, an appeal raising only such a question is not maintainable, and the appellate court may dismiss it on jurisdictional grounds without engaging the substantive merits. Additionally, new grounds of challenge not raised before the lower appellate authority cannot be introduced for the first time before the Supreme Court.
On this section: Parallel provision read down by Andhra Pradesh High Court to mean 'importer' rather than 'every person'; reasoning applied to Section 11-D interpretation by analogy
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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… According to the Department, the alleged excess amounts collected by the respondents should have been credited to the consumer welfare fund under the head of customs . The failure to credit the excess customs duty collected to the consumer welfare fund account resulted in a liability under Section 28B of the Customs Act, 1962. The respondent, in reply, stated that the alleged excess amount collected by the respondent is not retained by the respondent and deposited the said amount to the oil pool account. The liability stated under Section 28B does not in the strict sense arise and prayed for dropping further …
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 28B
What have the courts held on Section 28B of the Customs Act?
Commnr. of Central Excise, Meerut vs Bharat Petroleum Corpn. LTD (27 Sep 2011) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Parallel provision read down by Andhra Pradesh High Court to mean 'importer' rather than 'every person'; reasoning applied to Section 11-D interpretation by analogy.
How do I find court cases under Section 28B 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 28B, section 28B Customs Act 1962, section 28B of the Customs Act. People searching for it also type 28bb customs act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Commnr. of Central Excise, Meerut vs Bharat Petroleum Corpn. LTD (27 Sep 2011).
What should I read with Section 28B of the Customs Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 27 (Claim for refund of duty), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. 2 instruments name it without being made under it, most recently Voluntary payment of duty before final assessment- Circular No.40/2011-Customs, dated 9.9.11 (2011), then - Instructions regarding Section 28 BA of the Customs Act, 1962.- Circular No.10/2008-Customs, dated 30.6.2008 (2008).
When did Section 28B of the Customs Act come into force?
Section 28B of the Customs Act, cited as Customs Act 1962 28B, 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.