InterGlobe Aviation Ltd (IndiGo) has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking to recover nearly ₹900 crore from the Customs department. The amount pertains to Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) and cess paid on repair costs for aircraft parts re-imported into India after undergoing maintenance abroad.
Legal Challenge Follows
The petition follows a significant Delhi High Court ruling in March, which declared unconstitutional the imposition of IGST and cess on the repair component of goods re-imported after overseas maintenance. The court had struck down portions of a 2021 Customs exemption notification that sought to levy tax on the repair value of such re-imports.
IndiGo contended that Customs officials compelled the airline to pay these duties to clear aircraft engines and other critical components. Unlike GST, which is self-assessed, customs clearance requires officer approval, and the airline argued that aircraft could not remain grounded indefinitely. Consequently, it paid the duties under protest across more than 4,000 bills of entry, totaling over ₹900 crore.
When IndiGo later filed refund claims, Customs authorities rejected them, stating that the airline must first seek reassessment of each bill of entry. IndiGo maintained that duty had been paid under protest in all cases and that speaking orders had already been issued on the disputed assessments, against which appeals were pending.
Customs Rejects Refunds
The airline’s latest plea came up on Friday before a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain. However, the hearing did not proceed after Justice Shail Jain recused herself, informing the court that her son is a pilot with IndiGo.
The matter will now be listed before another bench as directed by the Chief Justice.