SC admits customs dept plea on IGST levy on import of lithium-ion batteries
This story was originally published at 14:36 IST on 10 April 2026
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NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Friday admitted the customs department's plea seeking higher ad valorem integrated goods and service tax of 28% on the import of lithium-ion batteries for manufacture of mobile phones. A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan sought Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd.'s reply on the customs department's appeal against a Customs, Excise, Service Tax Appellate Tribunal's 2025 order that a lower integrated goods and service tax of 12% should be charged on the import of lithium-ion batteries. It also sought replies from Vivo Mobile India Pvt. Ltd., Oppo Mobiles India Pvt. Ltd. and LG Electronics India Ltd.
Samsung India is in the business of manufacturing mobile phones in India. Lithium-ion batteries are used in portable electronics, such as mobile phones and tablets.
The company imports lithium-ion batteries for use in the manufacture of mobile phones and classified it under the customs tariff item relating to those batteries. However, the customs department issued a show-cause notice to Samsung and other companies, alleging that lithium-ion batteries imported by the company would be leviable to integrated goods and service tax of 28% that covers electric accumulators (batteries) and their parts. Samsung said that the customs department had not provided any reason as to why lithium-ion batteries would be outside the purview of entry of 12% tax, despite the fact that this entry specifically mentions the criterion of import being undertaken "for manufacture of telephones for cellular networks". End
Reported by Surya Tripathi
Edited by Avishek Dutta
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