Customs Tariff Act, 1975 › Customs Tariff Act, 1975

Section 5. Levy of a lower rate of duty under a trade agreement

Customs Tariff Act, 1975

Bare Act

Levy of a lower rate of duty under a trade agreement. —

(1) Whereunder a trade agreement between the Government of India and the Government of a foreign country or territory, duty at a rate lower than that specified in the First Schedule is to be charged on articles which are the produce or manufacture of such foreign country or territory, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for determining if any article is the produce or manufacture of such foreign country or territory and for requiring the owner to make a claim at the time of importation, supported by such evidence as may be prescribed in the said rules, for assessment at the appropriate lower rate under such agreement.

(2) If any question arises whether any trade agreement applies to any country or territory, or whether it has ceased to apply to India or any foreign country or territory, it shall be referred to the Central Government for decision and the decision of the Central Government shall be final and shall not be liable to be questioned in any court of law.

Judgments on Section 5

  • M.M. Ceramics & Ferro Alloys vs Union Of India & Ors — Delhi High Court, 2 Sep 2026. An importer's truthful declaration under Section 46(4)—including the RVC particulars in a Certificate of Origin—is a substantive statutory obligation, and the power under Section 28 to recover duty escaped by…
  • Rajasthan Metals vs Union Of India & Ors — Delhi High Court, 28 Apr 2026. Unincorporated treaty provisions cannot override national law, and Customs authorities retain full jurisdiction under Section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962 to issue show cause notices alleging fraud, misrepresentation or…
  • Blow Plast Industries vs Cc Sea Ch - Ii — CESTAT, 11 Nov 2025. A Certificate of Origin issued by the competent certifying authority of the exporting country cannot be unilaterally rejected merely because the goods lack marks and numbers on the packages; customs must follow the…
  • Shakti Insulated Wires Pvt Ltd vs Ahmedabad — CESTAT, 9 Apr 2025. Products in coil form are 'wire' under note 1(f) to Chapter 74 and cannot be classified as 'bars and rods' under note 1(d), so declaring coiled copper as heading 7407 correctly forfeits the CEPA exemption confined to…
  • Veeresh Kumar Pm vs The Principal Commissioner Of Customs -… — CESTAT, 20 Aug 2026. Goods whose tariff entry prescribes a 'Free' rate of duty are not 'dutiable goods' under Section 2(14) of the Customs Act and therefore cannot be classified under CTH 9804 ('all dutiable goods imported for personal…
  • Shri Santosh Kumar Senapati vs Kolkata-Prev — CESTAT, 27 Apr 2026. Where Certificates of Origin issued by the exporting country's authorities have been verified and certified correct, the DRI has no authority to question them, and in the absence of even an iota of evidence of…
  • Trafigura India Private Limited vs Union Of India — Gujarat High Court, 5 May 2023. A treaty provision such as AIFTA Article 24 that is not transformed into municipal legislation cannot be invoked or enforced in Indian courts, and procedural time limits under Operational Certification Procedures stand…
  • M/S.Unik Traders vs The Addl. Director General — Madras High Court, 9 Jul 2019. A show cause notice will not be quashed in writ jurisdiction except in rare and exceptional cases where it is wholly without jurisdiction or wholly illegal, and under Section 151B(5) of the Customs Act, 1962 a Customs…
  • M/S.Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd vs Union Of India — Madras High Court, 22 Dec 2018. The GST Council's power is merely recommendatory — it cannot determine the classification of goods, which must be strictly in accordance with the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and independently determined by the Assessing…