Customs Duty Concession for SEZ Units on DTA Clearances — Notification No. 11/2026-Customs
The Central Government has issued Notification No. 11/2026-Customs dated 31st March 2026, granting concessional customs duty rates on goods manufactured by Special Economic Zone (SEZ) units and cleared into the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA). The notification is effective from 1st April 2026 and will remain in force until 31st March 2027.
Key Highlights:
The notification provides partial exemption from Basic Customs Duty (BCD) — and in select cases, from Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) — on a wide range of manufactured goods cleared from SEZ to DTA. The concessional BCD rates range from 4% to 15% depending on the tariff classification, as specified in two detailed tables annexed to the notification.
Eligibility Conditions:
The exemption is available only where the SEZ unit commenced production on or before 31st March 2025. The goods must have been manufactured within the SEZ with a minimum value addition of 20%, computed using a prescribed formula. The aggregate DTA clearance value in any financial year cannot exceed 30% of the highest annual FOB export value of the preceding three years. No duty drawback or Foreign Trade Policy export benefit should have been availed on the inputs used.
Procedural Requirements:
A Bill of Entry for home consumption must be filed on the Common Portal. The unit must produce a certificate from the jurisdictional Development Commissioner certifying the production commencement date, export performance, and value addition achieved, along with an undertaking to pay full duty in case of non-compliance.
Exclusions:
Units in Free Trade and Warehousing Zones are excluded. Goods merely imported into SEZs and cleared to DTA — whether as such or after use — do not qualify. Units availing this benefit are subject to audit under Rule 79 of the SEZ Rules, 2006.
This is a time-bound, one-year window that SEZ manufacturing units should evaluate carefully to optimise their DTA clearance strategy.
[Source: Notification No. 11/2026-Customs dated 31.03.2026, G.S.R. 242(E)]