TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
07 Oct 2026 
A competitor writes to Customs. Your consignment is flagged. The Bill of Entry stops moving.
There is no court order against you, and no one has shown that your goods are fake. Yet the container sits at the port, running up demurrage every day.
Before you panic, check one thing. Did the right holder ever register a notice with Customs under the Intellectual Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules, 2007?
The answer decides almost everything that follows.
How Customs enforces IPR at the border
The Customs Act, 1962 lets the Central Government prohibit imports to protect trademarks, patents and copyrights. Section 11(2)(n) is the source of that power.
The procedure sits in the Intellectual Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules, 2007, notified by Notification No. 47/2007-Customs (N.T.) dated 8 May 2007. CBIC's implementation instructions came later in Circular No. 41/2007-Customs dated 29 October 2007.
The Rules cover copyrights, trademarks, designs and geographical indications. Patents were taken out of the scheme by Notification No. 56/2018-Customs (N.T.) dated 22 June 2018, so a patent complaint on its own gives Customs no footing under these Rules today.
The scheme works on a simple sequence. The right holder applies, Customs registers the notice, the right holder secures Customs and the importer with bonds, and only then do suspension powers attach to that right.
Registration is what makes your goods "prohibited"
Rule 3 lets a right holder give Customs a notice asking it to suspend clearance of goods suspected to infringe its right. The notice is filed in the prescribed form with supporting documents.
Under Rule 4, the Commissioner examines the notice and decides within 30 working days whether to register it. Rule 4 sets a minimum validity of 1 year unless the right holder asks for less. Circular 41/2007 fixes the registration period at 5 years, after which a fresh application, bonds and fee are needed.
Rule 5 makes registration conditional on two bonds from the right holder. One protects you, the importer, against liabilities, demurrage, detention and destruction costs. The other indemnifies Customs against liability for suspending your goods.
Then comes the provision that matters most. Rule 6 says that once a notice is registered, import of allegedly infringing goods is deemed prohibited within the meaning of Section 11 of the Customs Act.
Read the sequence carefully. The deemed prohibition attaches after registration. A letter of complaint from a competitor, however strongly worded, does not convert your goods into prohibited goods.
What Rule 7 actually allows Customs to do
Rule 7 is the suspension provision. It gives the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner two routes.
Under Rule 7(1)(a), the officer suspends clearance acting on a notice that the right holder has given and Customs has registered. This is the normal route.
Under Rule 7(1)(b), the officer can suspend clearance on his own initiative where he has prima facie evidence or reasonable grounds to believe the goods infringe an IPR. This is the ex officio route, and it does not need a registered notice to start.
Either way, Rule 7(2) requires Customs to inform both you and the right holder of the suspension promptly, by speed post or electronic mode, with the reasons.
The timelines are where most detentions fall apart.
Under Rule 7(3), if the right holder does not join the proceedings within 10 working days of suspension, the goods are released, provided the other conditions of import are met. The Commissioner can extend this by another 10 days in appropriate cases.
Under Rule 7(4), where Customs acted on its own, the right holder must give notice and comply with the Rule 5 bond requirements within 5 days of suspension. If it does not, the goods are released.
Rules 7(7) and 7(8) shorten the window for perishable goods to 3 working days, extendable by 4 days.
If the right holder does join in time, Rule 7(9) allows the officer to seize the goods under Section 110 of the Customs Act. That is the point at which the matter becomes a formal adjudication under the Act.
The consignment-specific bond most importers never ask about
Circular 41/2007 adds a layer that the Rules alone do not spell out.
Beyond the general bonds at registration, the right holder is expected to furnish a consignment-specific bond when a particular shipment is suspended. The circular sets this at 110% of the value of the goods, with security of 25% of the bond value by bank guarantee or fixed deposit.
If the right holder does not execute that bond and furnish security within the time the circular allows, the circular directs that the goods be released.
This is the right holder's real cost of keeping your consignment at the port. When a complainant is unwilling to put money behind its complaint, the detention has no procedural support left.
What the courts have said
The Bombay High Court dealt with a detention of this kind in NBU Bearings Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. Versus Union of India & Ors. - 2021 (3) TMI 544 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT
The importer had filed 6 Bills of Entry for bearings carrying the "TR" mark, which it held as a registered trademark. A third party claimed copyright in the "TR" artwork and complained to Customs. Clearance was suspended without a formal order.
The complainant had furnished bonds. The Court still ordered release.
It read Rule 7 together with Section 53 of the Copyright Act, 1957, which requires Customs to release detained goods if the complainant does not produce a court order on their disposal within 14 days of detention. Ownership of the mark was disputed in pending civil suits, and the complainant had no interim order. The Court held it would not be appropriate for Customs to keep the consignments beyond the prescribed period, and directed release on the importer furnishing a bond.
The lesson for importers is direct. Even where a right holder has done the paperwork, the timelines in the Rules and the parent IP statute still bind Customs. Where the right holder has not even registered, the case for continued detention is weaker still.
A client consignment held for over 4 months
A client's consignment recently sat at Customs for more than 4 months. The only reason on record was an IPR complaint by another party.
When we looked at the file, three things were missing. Customs had taken no bond from the right holder under Rule 5. No suspension had been issued under Rule 7, so there was no order setting out reasons and no clock running under Rule 7(3) or 7(4). Clearance was simply being refused.
We filed a rule-by-rule representation with the Commissioner. It walked through Rules 4, 5, 6 and 7, showed that none of the preconditions for a lawful suspension had been met, and asked for release in the same letter.
The goods cleared 2.5 weeks after we stepped in. No litigation followed.
A detention that skips the procedure in the Rules has no legal backing, and Customs officers generally recognise this once the gaps are put in writing. Circular 41/2007 itself cautions officers to exercise ex officio powers with care, because liability for wrongful detention rests with the department.
Checklist for a suspended consignment
Run through these questions the day you learn your goods are held.
1. Is there a registered notice for this right? Ask Customs to confirm whether the complainant holds a notice registered under Rule 4 for the specific trademark, copyright, design or GI it is relying on. A pending application does not trigger Rule 6.
2. Does the registration cover your port of import? The right holder names the ports in its notice. Circular 41/2007 lets one registration cover all the ports specified, but a port left out of the notice is outside its reach.
3. Is the registration still valid? Check the registration date against the validity period. An expired registration needs a fresh application and fresh bonds.
4. Has a suspension actually been issued under Rule 7? Ask for the date of suspension and the written reasons communicated under Rule 7(2). Every timeline in the Rules runs from that date.
5. Has the right holder joined proceedings within 10 working days? If not, and no extension has been granted by the Commissioner, Rule 7(3) requires release.
6. If Customs acted on its own, did notice and bonds follow within 5 days? Rule 7(4) requires both. Ask for the dates in writing.
7. Has the consignment-specific bond been furnished? Ask whether the 110% bond and 25% security under Circular 41/2007 are on record for your shipment.
8. For copyright claims, has a court order been produced within 14 days? Section 53 of the Copyright Act, as read by the Bombay High Court in NBU Bearings, requires release if it has not.
If the answers come back blank, the right holder has stayed silent in law, and your goods should be released.
How to write to the Commissioner
Write early. The longer a detention runs, the more demurrage you absorb and the harder it becomes to argue urgency.
Address the Commissioner of Customs at the port of import, with a copy to the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner handling the Bill of Entry.
Set out the Bill of Entry number and date, the goods, and the date clearance stopped. State that you have received no suspension order under Rule 7, or, if you have, quote its date.
Then go rule by rule. Ask whether a notice is registered under Rule 4, whether Rule 5 bonds are in place, and whether the Rule 7(3) or 7(4) period has expired. Cite Rule 6 for the point that goods become prohibited only after registration, and cite NBU Bearings for the principle that statutory timelines bind Customs even where bonds exist.
Ask for release in the same letter. Do not split the request into a query now and a release request later.
Attach your commercial invoice, packing list, Bill of Lading or Airway Bill, and evidence of your supplier's authorisation or your own trademark registration if you hold one. Proof that the goods are genuine shortens the conversation considerably.
If Customs does not respond within a reasonable time, a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution is the usual remedy. NBU Bearings is an example of the High Court ordering release in exactly this setting.
FAQ
Can Customs hold my goods only because a competitor complained?
A complaint alone does not make goods prohibited. Under Rule 6 of the IPR (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules, 2007, the deemed prohibition applies only after the right holder's notice is registered under Rule 4. Customs can still suspend on its own initiative under Rule 7(1)(b), but the right holder must then give notice and furnish bonds within 5 days under Rule 7(4).
How long can Customs suspend clearance under the IPR Rules?
If the right holder does not join proceedings within 10 working days of suspension, Rule 7(3) requires release. The Commissioner can extend this by another 10 days in appropriate cases. For perishable goods, the period is 3 working days, extendable by 4 days.
Does a patent complaint allow Customs to stop my imports?
Patents were removed from the scope of the Rules by Notification No. 56/2018-Customs (N.T.) dated 22 June 2018. A complaint based only on patent infringement does not support a suspension under these Rules.
What bond does the right holder have to give?
Rule 5 requires a general bond protecting the importer and an indemnity bond protecting Customs, as conditions for registration. Circular 41/2007-Customs also requires a consignment-specific bond of 110% of the value of the goods, with security of 25% of the bond value, when a particular shipment is suspended.
Who pays demurrage if the detention was wrongful?
The Rule 5 bond is meant to protect the importer against demurrage, detention and other costs flowing from the suspension. Whether you can recover them depends on the bond on record and the facts of the detention, so keep a running record of port charges from the first day.
Before your next consignment lands
If you import branded goods, ask your supplier whether any third party has registered IPR notices with Indian Customs for the marks on your goods. Keep authorisation letters, trademark registrations and supply chain documents ready before the shipment arrives, not after it is flagged.
Importers, has Customs ever held your goods without a registered notice? How long did release take?
Running into a GST or Customs issue? We offer a free 20-minute diagnostic call to understand your situation and suggest a course of action before any recommendation.