The Customs Act,1962

(1) This Act may be called the Customs Act, 1962. (2) It extends to the whole of India 1[and, save as otherwise provided in this Act, it applies also to anyoffence or contravention thereunder committed outside India by any person]. (3) It shall come into force on such date2as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- 1[(1) adjudicating authority means any authority competent to pass any order or decision underthis Act, but does not include the Board, 2[Commissioner (Appeals)] or Appellate Tribunal; (1A) aircraft has the same meaning as in the Aircraft Act, 1934 (22 of 1934); (1B) Appellate Tribunal means the Customs, Excise and 3[Service Tax] Appellate Tribunalconstituted under section 129;] 4[(2) assessment means determination of the dutiability of any goods and the amount of duty, tax,cess or any other sum so payable, if any, under this Act or under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975(51 of 1975) (hereinafter referred to as the Customs Tariff Act) or under any other law for the time beingin force, with reference to-- (a) the tariff classification of such goods as determined in accordance with the provisions ofthe Customs Tariff Act; (b) the value of such goods as determined in accordance with the provisions of this Act andthe Customs Tariff Act; (c) exemption or concession of duty, tax, cess or any other sum, consequent upon any notificationissued therefor under this Act or under the Customs Tariff Act or under any other law for the timebeing in force; (d) the quantity, weight, volume, measurement or other specifics where such duty, tax, cess orany other sum is leviable on the basis of the quantity, weight, volume, measurement or otherspecifics of such goods; (e) the origin of such goods determined in accordance with the provisions of the CustomsTariff Act or the rules made thereunder, if the amount of duty, tax, cess or any other sum isaffected by the origin of such goods; (f) any other specific factor which affects the duty, tax, cess or any other sum payable on suchgoods, and includes provisional assessment, self-assessment, re-assessment and any assessment in which theduty assessed is nil;] (3) baggage includes unaccompanied baggage but does not include motor vehicles; 5[(3A) beneficial owner means any person on whose behalf the goods are being imported orexported or who exercises effective control over the goods being imported or exported;] (4) bill of entry means a bill of entry referred to in section 46; (5) bill of export means a bill of export referred to in section 50; (6) Board means the 6[7[Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs] constituted under theCentral Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963)]; (7) coastal goods means goods, other than imported goods, transported in a vessel from one port inIndia to another; 8[(7A) Commissioner (Appeals) means a person appointed to be a Commissioner of Customs(Appeals) under sub-section (1) of section 4; 9[(7B) common portal means the Common Customs Electronic Portal referred to in section 154C;]. (8)10[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs], except for the purposes ofChapter XV, includes an Additional Commissioner of Customs;] (9) conveyance includes a vessel, an aircraft and a vehicle; (10) customs airport means any airport appointed under clause (a) of section 7 to be a customsairport 11[and includes a place appointed under clause (aa) of that section to be an air freight station]; (11) customs area means the area of a customs station 12[or a warehouse] and includes any area inwhich imported goods or exported goods are ordinarily kept before clearance by Customs Authorities; (12) customs port means any port appointed under clause (a) of section 7 to be a customs port13[, and includes a place appointed under clause (aa) of that section to be an inland container depot]; (13) customs station means any customs port, 14[customs airport, international courier terminal,foreign post office] or land customs station; (14) dutiable goods means any goods which are chargeable to duty and on which duty has not beenpaid; (15) duty means a duty of customs leviable under this Act; (16) entry in relation to goods means an entry made in a bill of entry, shipping bill or bill of exportand includes 15*** the entry made under the regulations made under section 84; (17) examination, in relation to any goods, includes measurement and weighment thereof; (18) export, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means taking out of India to aplace outside India; (19) export goods means any goods which are to be taken out of India to a place outside India; (20) exporter, in relation to any goods at any time between their entry for export and the time whenthey are exported, includes 16[any owner, beneficial owner] or any person holding himself out to be theexporter; 17[(20A) foreign post office means any post office appointed under clause (e) of sub-section (1) ofsection 7 to be a foreign post office;] (21) foreign-going vessel or aircraft means any vessel or aircraft for the time being engaged in thecarriage of goods or passengers between any port or airport in India and any port or airport outside India,whether touching any intermediate port or airport in India or not, and includes-- (i) any naval vessel of a foreign Government taking part in any naval exercises; (ii) any vessel engaged in fishing or any other operations outside the territorial waters of India; (iii) any vessel or aircraft proceeding to a place outside India for any purpose whatsoever; 18[(21A) Fund means the Consumer Welfare Fund established under section 12C of the CentralExcises and Salt Act, 1944 (1 of 1944);] (22) goods includes-- (a) vessels, aircrafts and vehicles; (b) stores; (c) baggage; (d) currency and negotiable instruments; and (e) any other kind of movable property; (23) import, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means bringing into Indiafrom a place outside India; (24) 19[arrival manifest or import manifest] or import report means the manifest or report requiredto be delivered under section 30; (25) imported goods means any goods brought into India from a place outside India but does notinclude goods which have been cleared for home consumption; (26) importer, in relation to any goods at any time between their importation and the time whenthey are cleared for home consumption, includes 20[any owner, beneficial owner] or any person holdinghimself out to be the importer; (27) India includes the territorial waters of India; (28) Indian Customs Waters means the 21[waters extending into the sea up to the limit of 22[ExclusiveEconomic zone under section 7] of the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zoneand other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (80 of 1976),] and includes any bay, gulf, harbour, creek or tidalriver; 23[(28A) international courier terminal means any place appointed under clause (f) ofsub-section (1) of section 7 to be an international courier terminal;] (29) land customs station means any place appointed under clause (b) of section 7 to be a landcustoms station; (30) market price, in relation to any goods, means the wholesale price of the goods in the ordinarycourse of trade in India; 24[(30A) National Tax Tribunal means the National Tax Tribunal established under section 3 of theNational Tax Tribunal Act, 2005 (49 of 2005);] 25[(30AA) notification means notification published in the Official Gazette and the expressionnotify with its cognate meaning and grammatical variation shall be construed accordingly;] 26[(30B) passenger name record information means the records prepared by an operator of anyaircraft or vessel or vehicle or his authorised agent for each journey booked by or on behalf of anypassenger;] (31) person-in-charge means,-- (a) in relation to a vessel, the master of the vessel; (b) in relation to an aircraft, the commander or pilot-in-charge of the aircraft; (c) in relation to a railway train, the conductor, guard or other person having the chief direction ofthe train; (d) in relation to any other conveyance, the driver or other person-in-charge of the conveyance; (32) prescribed means prescribed by regulations made under this Act; (33) prohibited goods means any goods the import or export of which is subject to any prohibitionunder this Act or any other law for the time being in force but does not include any such goods in respectof which the conditions subject to which the goods are permitted to be imported or exported have beencomplied with; (34) proper office, in relation to any functions to be performed under this Act, means the officer of customs who is assigned those functions by the Board or the 27[Principal Commissioner of Customs orCommissioner of Customs] 28[under section 5]; (35) regulations means the regulations made by the Board under any provision of this Act; (36) rules means the rules made by the Central Government under any provision of this Act; (37) shipping bill means a shipping bill referred to in section 50; (38) stores means goods for use in a vessel or aircraft and includes fuel and spare parts and otherarticles of equipment, whether or not for immediate fitting; (39) smuggling, in relation to any goods, means any act or omission which will render such goodsliable to confiscation under section 111 or section 113; (40) tariff value, in relation to any goods, means the tariff value fixed in respect thereof undersub-section (2) of section 14; (41) value, in relation to any goods, means the value thereof determined in accordance with theprovisions of 29[sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 14]; (42) vehicle means conveyance of any kind used on land and includes a railway vehicle; 30[(43) warehouse means a public warehouse licensed under section 57 or a private warehouselicensed under section 58 or a special warehouse licensed under section 58A;] (44) warehoused goods means goods deposited in a warehouse; 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1[3.2[ Classes of officers of customs.--There shall be the following classes of officers of customs,namely:-- (a) Principal Chief Commissioner of Customs or Principal Chief Commissioner of Customs(Preventive) or Principal Director General of Revenue Intelligence;(b) Chief Commissioner of Customs or Chief Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) or Director General of Revenue Intelligence;(c) Principal Commissioner of Customs or Principal Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) or Principal Additional Director General of Revenue Intelligence or Principal Commissioner of Customs (Audit);(d) Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) or Additional Director General of Revenue Intelligence or Commissioner of Customs (Audit);(e) Principal Commissioner of Customs (Appeals); (f) Commissioner of Customs (Appeals);(g) Additional Commissioner of Customs or Additional Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) or Additional Director of Revenue Intelligence or Additional Commissioner of Customs (Audit);(h) Joint Commissioner of Customs or Joint Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) or Joint Director of Revenue Intelligence or Joint Commissioner of Customs (Audit);(i) Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) or Deputy Director of Revenue Intelligence or Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Audit);(j) Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) orAssistant Director of Revenue Intelligence or Assistant Commissioner of Customs (Audit);(k) such other class of officers of customs as may be appointed for the purposes of this Act;.]

(1) The 1[Board] may appoint such persons as it thinks fitto be officers of customs. (2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), 2[Board may authorise a 3[Principal ChiefCommissioner of Customs or Chief Commissioner of Customs] or] a 4[Principal Commissioner ofCustoms or Commissioner of Customs] or a 5[Joint] or 6[Assistant Commissioner of Customs or DeputyCommissioner of Customs] to appoint officers of customs below the rank of 6[Assistant Commissioner ofCustoms or Deputy Commissioner of Customs.]

(1) Subject to such conditions and limitations as the Board mayimpose, an officer of customs may exercise the powers and discharge the duties conferred or imposed on him under this Act. 1[(1A) Without prejudice to the provisions contained in sub-section (1), the Board may, by notification, assign such functions as it may deem fit, to an officer of customs, who shall be the proper officer in relation to such functions. (1B) Within their jurisdiction assigned by the Board, the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, may, by order, assign such functions, as he may deem fit, to an officer of customs, who shall be the proper officer in relation to such functions.] (2) An officer of customs may exercise the powers and discharge the duties conferred or imposedunder this Act on any other officer of customs who is subordinate to him. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, 2[a 3[Commissioner (Appeals)]] shall notexercise the powers and discharge the duties conferred or imposed on an officer of customs other thanthose specified 4[Chapter XV, and section 108 and sub-section (1D) of section 110]. 5[(4) In specifying the conditions and limitations referred to in sub-section (1), and in assigning functions under sub-section (1A), the Board may consider any one or more of the following criteria, including, but not limited to (a) territorial jurisdiction; (b) persons or class of persons; (c) goods or class of goods; (d) cases or class of cases; (e) computer assigned random assignment; (f) any other criterion as the Board may, by notification, specify. (5) The Board may, by notification, wherever necessary or appropriate, require two or more officers of customs (whether or not of the same class) to have concurrent powers and functions to be performed under this Act.]