Audit
Section 99A of the Customs Act, 1962 deals with audit. The proper officer may carry out the audit of assessment of imported goods or export goods or of an auditee under this Act either in his office or in the premises of the auditee in such manner as may be prescribed. The Act came into force on 01 Feb 1963.
1[99A. Audit.--The proper officer may carry out the audit of assessment of imported goods or export goods or of an auditee under this Act either in his office or in the premises of the auditee in such manner as may be prescribed.
Explanation.--For the purposes of this section, "auditee" means a person who is subject to an audit under this section and includes an importer or exporter or custodian approved under section 45 or licensee of a warehouse and any other person concerned directly or indirectly in clearing, forwarding, stocking, carrying, selling or purchasing of imported goods or export goods or dutiable goods.]
Section 99A, 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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Designco v. Union of India & Ors.
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.99A audit power — audit of assessment of imported/exported goods cannot be used as a freestanding MEIS-recovery pathway outside s.28/28AAA safeguards.
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 learned senior counsel, the impugned communication and which is described to be a ‗ post clearance audit objection ' is also contrary to the spirit of Section 99A of the Customs Act. It is in the aforesaid context that Mr. Gulati drew our attention to the decisions of the Supreme Court in Metal Forgings and Another v. Union of India and Others<sup>12</sup> and Gorkha Security Services v. Government (NCT of Delhi) and Others<sup>13</sup> and where the following …
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… According to learned senior counsel, the impugned communication and which is described to be a ‗ post clearance audit objection ' is also contrary to the spirit of Section 99A of the Customs Act. It is in the aforesaid context that Mr. Gulati drew our attention to the decisions of the Supreme Court in Metal Forgings and Another v. Union of India and Others<sup>12</sup> and Gorkha Security Services v. Government (NCT of Delhi) and Others<sup>13</sup> and where the following …
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.
Questions about Section 99A
What have the courts held on Section 99A of the Customs Act?
Designco v. Union of India & Ors. (22 Nov 2024) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Applied Customs Act s.99A audit power — audit of assessment of imported/exported goods cannot be used as a freestanding MEIS-recovery pathway outside s.28/28AAA safeguards.
How do I find court cases under Section 99A 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 99A, section 99A Customs Act 1962, section 99A of the 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 Designco v. Union of India & Ors. (22 Nov 2024).
What should I read with Section 99A of the Customs Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 45 (Restrictions on custody and removal of imported goods), so none of them can safely be read on its own. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there are 2: most recently Customs Audit Regulations, 2018 (2018), then Notification No.39/2018-Cus(NT), dated 11.5.2018 (2018).
When did Section 99A of the Customs Act come into force?
Section 99A of the Customs Act, cited as Customs Act 1962 99A, 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 17 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.