Exemption from customs duty under Section 25(2) of the Customs Act, 1962 and guidelines thereof under Circular no.49/2003 dated 10th June 2003- import by Government bodies- regarding/-

Customs duty exemption limited: ad-hoc relief only for narrow security, defence, or disaster imports; budgetary provision required.

Ad-hoc customs duty exemptions are limited to narrowly defined cases: secret or strategic government imports; defence and defence R&D imports; and, only in exceptional unforeseeable security situations, police and para-military equipment when no budget provision for duty could be made. Customs duty is not dispensable; routine functional imports and project-related imports by governments, autonomous bodies, municipalities, or public undertakings must be funded through their budgets. Relief and rehabilitation imports in unforeseen disasters are an exception and will be considered on merits. Ministries are directed not to forward inappropriate exemption requests.