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Section79
The Customs Act, 1962

Bona fide baggage exempted from duty

In force From 01 Feb 1963 Act 52 of 1962 As on 14 Oct 2026

Act 52 of 1962 Ministry Finance Enacted 13 Dec 1962 In force 01 Feb 1963 Instruments 8

Section 79 of the Customs Act, 1962 deals with bona fide baggage exempted from duty. The proper officer may, subject to any rules made under sub-section (2), pass free of duty-- (a) any article in the baggage of a passenger or a member of the crew in respect of which the said officer is satisfied that it has been in his use for such minimum period as may be specified in the rules; The Act came into force on 01 Feb 1963.

(1) The proper officer may, subject to any rules made under sub-section (2), pass free of duty--

(a) any article in the baggage of a passenger or a member of the crew in respect of which the said officer is satisfied that it has been in his use for such minimum period as may be specified in the rules;

(b) any article in the baggage of a passenger in respect of which the said officer is satisfied that it is for the use of the passenger or his family or is a bona fide gift or souvenir; provided that the value of each such article and the total value of all such articles does not exceed such limits as may be specified in the rules.

(2) the Central Government may make rules for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section and, in particular, such rules may specify--

(a) the minimum period for which any article has been used by a passenger or a member of the crew for the purpose of clause (a) of sub-section (1);

(b) the maximum value of any individual article and the maximum total value of all the articles which may be passed free of duty under clause (b) of sub-section (1);

(c) the conditions (to be fulfilled before or after clearance) subject to which any baggage may be passed free of duty.

(3) Different rules may be made under sub-section (2) for different classes of persons.

Section 79, The Customs Act, 1962 (Act 52 of 1962).

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.

  1. High Court 08 Jan 2024 DLHC010262462019

    … Shri Rajdeep Chawla in his attempt to clear 2360+7140 pieces of SD 2 GB memory cards, collectively valued at Rs. 15,01,000/- in a clandestine manner, with an intention to smuggle the said goods as detailed in panchnama dated 26/27/01.2011; that Shri Veerendra Singh thus contravened provisions of Section 77 and Section 79 of the Customs Act, 1962 read with para 2.20 of Section 3 of Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14, and Section (7) of Foreign Trade (D&R) Act, 1992; that Shri Veerendra Singh acted for a petty consideration and aided and abetted to smuggle the impugned goods by the above acts of omission and commission in relation to the …

    Read this order on eCourtsIndia

  2. High Court 08 Nov 2016 KLHC010813902016

    … Reference to is made to another judgment in Shaik Jamal Basha v. Government of India [1997 (91) E.L.T. 277 (A.P.) This judgment is by Division Bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court. It was held that Rule 9 of Baggage Rules, 1979 framed under Section 79(2) of the Customs Act, 1962 lists gold in any form other than ornaments in Appendix B of the Rules as articles -:4:- which shall not be imported free of duty. Hence gold in the form other than ornaments is entitled to be imported on payment of duty. Attempt to import gold unauthorisedly will thus come under …

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Made under this section, and citing it

8 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.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 79

What does Section 79 of the Customs Act deal with?

Section 79 of the Customs Act is headed "Bona fide baggage exempted from duty". The proper officer may, subject to any rules made under sub-section (2), pass free of duty-- (a) any article in the baggage of a passenger or a member of the crew in respect of which the said officer is satisfied that it has been in his use for such minimum period as may be specified in the rules;

How do I find court cases under Section 79 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 79, section 79 Customs Act 1962, section 79 of the Customs Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.

What should I read with Section 79 of the Customs Act, and has it changed?

The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there are 8: most recently Baggage Rules, 2016 (2016), then Notification No.43/2016-Cus(NT), dated 31.03.2016 (2016), and 6 more.

When did Section 79 of the Customs Act come into force?

Section 79 of the Customs Act, cited as Customs Act 1962 79, 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 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.