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Informist, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – In a relief to InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. and SpiceJet Ltd., the Supreme Court has rejected review petitions filed by the customs department seeking to impose retrospective integrated goods and services tax on reimport of aircraft or aircraft parts into India after repairs outside the country.

 

"Having carefully gone through the review petitions, the order(s) under challenge and the papers annexed therewith, we are satisfied that there is no error apparent on the face of the record or any merit in these review petitions, warranting reconsideration of the order impugned. The review petitions are, accordingly, dismissed," said a bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice K.V. Viswanathan.

 

Last year, the court had rejected the customs department's argument that an amended notification issued in 2021 would have retrospective effect from the original exemption notification of 2017. According to the department, InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet had to pay integrated GST for the period 2017 to 2021, which otherwise was not leviable under the original notification.

 

InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet, scheduled airline operators, import aircraft and aircraft parts and send them out of the country for repairs. When the repaired aircraft and parts are reimported into India, bills of entry have to be filed. In the 2017 notification, due to exemptions, airlines were required to pay only customs duty on the fair cost of repairs and the cost of insurance and freight charges. However, in the 2021 notification, the government said the airlines were required to pay integrated GST, in addition to the basic customs duty, on the fair cost of repairs and the cost of insurance and freight charges. 

 

In 2024, the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal ruled that the 2021 notification was not retrospective. Challenging this, the department moved the top court, which rejected its petition in July 2025. The department then filed the review petition. 

 

Last year, the Delhi High Court had also quashed a part of the government's 2021 notification that sought to impose integrated GST on reimport of aircraft or aircraft parts into India after repairs outside the country. The high court had declared the 2021 notification, "insofar as it purports to levy an additional duty over and above the IGST imposed under Section 5(1) by adding the words '...tax and cess'," as unconstitutional. In an appeal filed by the customs department, the top court has issued notice to InterGlobe Aviation. 

 

Relying on the government notification for customs duty on reimport of aircraft and aircraft parts, the customs department had also asked InterGlobe Aviation to pay INR 9 billion. The dispute regarding this is pending in the high court, which has issued notice to the customs department on a plea by InterGlobe Aviation seeking a refund of the money paid as duty on reimport of aircraft or aircraft parts into India after repairs outside the country.

 

Monday, shares of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. ended slightly higher at INR 4,862.20 on the National Stock Exchange. Shares of SpiceJet ended 2.2% lower at INR 15.85 on the BSE.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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