Customs Tariff Act, 1975 — provision-by-provision hub
Charging architecture, tariff Schedules, preference, emergency powers and trade remedies
How the Act works
The Customs Act, 1962 creates the customs charging and assessment machinery; the Customs Tariff Act supplies the import/export Schedules, additional-import levies, preference machinery and specialised trade remedies. A correct answer therefore moves from product classification to statutory rate, effective rate, Section 3 levies and any trade-remedy measure rather than treating a single “customs duty rate” as the whole computation.
Two current-law transitions are particularly important. Section 6 protective duty was omitted in 2024 after winding up of the Tariff Commission, so current import-surge relief belongs in the live safeguard architecture of Section 8B. Section 8C, the former China-specific transitional safeguard, has also been omitted and is historical only. By contrast, Sections 9, 9A and 9C continue to anchor countervailing, anti-dumping and specialist appellate review.
The First Schedule is also a classification code. Its General Rules for Interpretation and Section/Chapter Notes have legal force and must be applied before commercial shortcuts. The January 2026 Supreme Court decision in Welkin Foods reinforces the sequential GRI method and the primacy of statutory guidance.
Provision map
| Provision | Subject | Current status |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1 | Short title, extent and commencement | Operative |
| Section 2 | Duties specified in the Schedules to be levied | Operative |
| Section 3 | Levy of additional duty equal to excise duty, sales tax, local taxes and other charges | Operative |
| Section 3A | Special additional duty — omitted provision | Omitted / historical |
| Section 4 | Levy of duty where standard rate and preferential rate are specified | Operative |
| Section 5 | Levy of a lower rate of duty under a trade agreement | Operative |
| Section 6 | Protective duties on Tariff Commission recommendation | Omitted from 2024 |
| Section 7 | Duration of protective duties and power to alter them | Operative text / legacy application |
| Section 8 | Emergency power to increase or levy export duties | Operative |
| Section 8A | Emergency power to increase import duties | Operative |
| Section 8B | Power of Central Government to apply safeguard measures | Operative |
| Section 8C | Transitional product-specific safeguard on China — omitted | Omitted / historical |
| Section 9 | Countervailing duty on subsidized articles | Operative |
| Section 9A | Anti-dumping duty on dumped articles | Operative |
| Section 9AA | Refund of anti-dumping duty in certain cases | Operative |
| Section 9B | No levy under section 9 or 9A in certain cases | Operative |
| Section 9C | Appeal | Operative |
| Section 10 | Rules to be laid before Parliament | Operative |
| Section 11 | Power to alter duties under certain pre-commencement agreements | Operative / transitional |
| Section 11A | Power to amend First Schedule | Operative |
| Section 12 | Repeal and saving | Operative saving / transitional |
| Section 13 | Consequential amendment of the Customs Act, 1962 | Spent / historical effect |
Current operational sources
| Instrument | Authority | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customs Tariff Act, 1975 | India Code | Act and Schedules | Official/source route |
| CBIC Tax Information | CBIC | Effective-rate, exemption and non-tariff notifications | Official/source route |
| DGTR Compendium — 16 June 2026 | DGTR | Current anti-dumping, CVD and safeguard rules | Official/source route |
| SETU | DGTR | Electronic filing for trade-remedy investigations | Official/source route |
| Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 | Gazette | Omission of Section 6 | Official/source route |
| Finance Act, 2026 | Gazette | 2026 First Schedule amendments | Official/source route |
Practical sequence
- Classify the goods under the First/Second Schedule using legal Notes and GRIs.
- Identify the statutory tariff rate and the material date.
- Apply current Section 25/exemption or FTA preference conditions, if available.
- Compute Section 3 additional levies using the statutory value base.
- Check trade-remedy notifications for the exact product, origin/exporter and period.
- Reconcile the result to the bill of entry/shipping bill and retain source extracts.