Last updated: September 29th, 2022 12:30 PM

Customs Duty Exemption on COVID 19 vaccines and Oxygen imports

To improve the supply of medical oxygen in India which has been hit hard by the second Covid-19 wave, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) exempted the Customs Duty on the import of oxygen for three months. The CBIC Notification dated 24.04.2021 announced that the Government has decided to waive the Customs duty and the health cess for three months on the import of medical oxygen and a slew of equipment related to the production of the oxygen. The government also granted basic Customs duty and health cess exemption on Covid-19 vaccines till July 31^st, 2021. Know more about the CBIC Norms for Courier Import and Export of COVID-19 Vaccines

Gist of Notification

To augment the medical oxygen production and availability and to meet the rising demand, it was decided to grant full exemption from Basic Customs Duty and health cess on import of the items related to oxygen and oxygen-related equipment for a period of three months i.e. till July 31^st, 2021 The Government of India has decided to waive basic customs duty on the import of Covid-19 vaccines for three months

Exemption list

Besides medical oxygen, the list of equipment on which basic customs duty and health cess have been exempted includes:

• Oxygen concentrator including flow meter, regulator, connectors, and tubing
• Vacuum Pressure Swing Absorption (VPSA) and Pressure Swing Absorption (PSA) oxygen plants
• Cryogenic oxygen Air Separation Units (ASUs) produce liquid/gaseous oxygen
• Oxygen canister
• Oxygen filling systems.
• Oxygen storage tanks
• Oxygen generator
• ISO containers for Shipping Oxygen
• Cryogenic road transport tanks for Oxygen
• Oxygen cylinders including cryogenic cylinders and tanks manufacture equipment related to the production
• Parts of goods as stated above, manufacture of equipment related to the production, transportation, distribution, or storage of Oxygen, subject to the condition that the importer follows the procedure set out in the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty) Rules, 2017.
• Any other device from which oxygen can be generated

Customs duty and health cess exemption have also been provided for the import of ventilators (capable of functioning as high-flow devices) with nasal Cannula; compressors, including all accessories and tubing; humidifiers and viral filters; high flow nasal cannula devices with all attachments; helmets for use with non-invasive ventilation; non-invasive ventilation oronasal masks for ICU ventilators; and non-invasive ventilation nasal masks for ICU ventilators. The official notification about the Customs Duty Exemption on COVID 19 vaccines and Oxygen imports is as follows:

Import Export Code

The Import Export Code is a primary document that is necessary for commencing Import-export activities. For exporting or importing any goods or services the IE code is to be obtained.IEC has numerous benefits for the growth of the business. Certainly, you cannot ignore the necessity of IE code registration as it is mandatory. You can apply for an Import Export code through IndiaFilings and obtain it within 6 to 7 days.