Customs Act, 1962 › Chapter XIII — Searches, seizure and arrest

Section 104. Power to arrest

Customs Act, 1962

Bare Act

Power to arrest. —

(1) If an officer of customs empowered in this behalf by general or special order of the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs has reason to believe that any person [Omitted] has committed an offence punishable under section 132 or section 133 or section 135 or section 135A or section 136, he may arrest such person and shall, as soon as may be, inform him of the grounds for such arrest.

(2) Every person arrested under sub-section (1) shall, without unnecessary delay, be taken to a magistrate.

(3) Where an officer of customs has arrested any person under sub-section (1), he shall, for the purpose of releasing such person on bail or otherwise, have the same powers and be subject to the same provisions as the officer-in-charge of a police-station has and is subject to under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898).

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), any offence relating to -

(a) prohibited goods; or

(b) evasion or attempted evasion of duty exceeding 6 fifty lakh rupees; or 7 (c) fraudulently availing of or attempting to avail drawback or any exemption from duty provided under this Act, where the amount of drawback or exemption from duty exceeds fifty lakh rupees; or

(d) fraudulently obtaining an instrument for the purposes of this Act or the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, and such instrument is utilised under this Act, where duty relatable to such utilisation of instrument exceeds fifty lakh rupees, shall be cognizable.

(5)Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (4), all other offences under the Act shall be non-cognizable.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, (2 of 1974) an offence punishable under section 135 relating to -

(a) evasion or attempted evasion of duty exceeding fifty lakh rupees; or

(b) prohibited goods notified under section 11 which are also notified under sub-clause (C) of clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section 135; or

(c) import or export of any goods which have not been declared in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the market price of which exceeds one crore rupees; or

(d) fraudulently availing of or attempt to avail of drawback or any exemption from duty provided under this Act, if the amount of drawback or exemption from duty exceeds fifty lakh rupees; or, (e) fraudulently obtaining an instrument for the purposes of this Act or the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, and such instrument is utilised under this Act, where duty relatable to such utilisation of instrument exceeds fifty lakh rupees, shall be non-bailable.

(7) Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (6), all other offences under this Act shall be bailable.

Explanation - For the purposes of this section, the expression "instrument" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in Explanation to section 28AAA.

Judgments on Section 104

  • Radhika Agarwal vs Union Of India — Supreme Court of India, 27 Feb 2025. In arrests under special Acts such as the Customs Act, courts may interfere only where there is manifest arbitrariness or gross violation of the statutory safeguards, and not to test the sufficiency of the material…
  • Om Prakash & Anr vs Union Of India & Anr — Supreme Court of India, 30 Sep 2011. Offences under the Customs Act, 1962 — including those punishable under Section 135 — are non-cognizable but bailable, and an arrested person who offers bail must be released under Section 104(3) of the Customs Act if…
  • Mahendrakumar Amrutlal Shah vs State Of Gujarat — Gujarat High Court, 1 Oct 2026. An arrest by an empowered customs officer under Section 104 of the Customs Act does not need a prior notice of appearance under Section 35(3) of the BNSS, but it must meet the Radhika Agarwal safeguards.
  • Shri Pawan Kumar vs -Shillong(Preventive) — CESTAT, 17 Jun 2026. Where seized goods are not notified under Section 123 of the Customs Act, 1962, the onus of proving that they are of foreign origin lies on the Revenue, and mere seizure on a belief or suspicion of foreign origin cannot…
  • Yamal Manojbhai Jagada vs Commissioner Of Customs Airport &… — CESTAT, 15 May 2026. Under Section 125 of the Customs Act, 1962 no condition can be imposed while offering redemption of confiscated goods — the owner may opt for home consumption on payment of duty, interest, fine and penalty, or for…
  • Kundan Care Products Ltd vs Commissioner Of Customs-New Delhi Acc… — CESTAT, 31 Jul 2024. A penalty imposed under section 112 of the Customs Act for 'contravention' of statutory provisions is not a penalization for an 'offence', since offences and penalties are distinct categories; therefore, a licensee who…
  • D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal; Ashok K. Johri v. State of U.P. — Supreme Court of India, 18 Dec 1996. Every arrest must follow the D.K. Basu safeguards: identification, arrest memo, informing a relative, medical examination and access to a lawyer.
  • Mr Nandeesha N vs Union Of India — Karnataka High Court, 28 Aug 2026. In a chain smuggling operation, non-recovery of contraband from an accused's person is not by itself a ground to quash proceedings at the threshold, for 'innocence is a defence to be demonstrated in the proceedings, not…
  • Adani Enterprises Limited And Anr vs Union Of India And Ors — Bombay High Court, 17 Oct 2019. A Letter of Rogatory under Section 166-A Cr.P.C. can be issued only in aid of an investigation validly commenced under Chapter XII of the Cr.P.C.; where the alleged customs offence is non-cognizable under Section 104(5)…
  • Bijan Halder And Anr. vs State Of West Bengal And Ors. — Calcutta High Court, 14 May 1993. Since offences under the Customs Act are non-cognizable (Section 104(4)) and customs officers act under independent statutory powers rather than as police investigating officers, Section 167, Cr.P.C.
  • Sahara Mohamud Sheikh vs Union Of India And Ors — Bombay High Court, 8 Sep 2026. Release of the passport of a foreign national accused in a customs offence can be allowed with appropriate conditions, but permission to travel abroad must be considered in light of the apprehension that the accused may…
  • Vijay Madanlal Choudhary vs Union Of India — Supreme Court of India, 27 Jul 2022. The argument about proportionality of punishment with reference to the nature of the scheduled offence is wholly unfounded and stands rejected.