Financial planning

Indigo Igst Aircraft Delhi HC 2025
Compliance and filing guide

Expert brief on Indigo Igst Aircraft Delhi HC 2025 for businesses, promoters, and individuals. Reconcile with latest notifications before filing.

Last fact-checked: 2026-07-01

Duplicate checked

Official-source cautious

India specific

Dispute Details

Facts & Lower Court History

Facts: IndiGo sends aircraft engines/parts abroad to overseas MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) providers for repair.
Lower Court: Under Notification No. 45/2017-Customs: only Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on cost of repairs + freight + insurance. No IGST mentioned.
Key Issue: Airlines treated this as exempt from IGST (already paying IGST as import of services under Section 5(1) IGST Act on the repair value).

Court Ratio

Ratio 1: IGST on import of services = governed SOLELY by Section 5(1) of IGST Act.
Ratio 2: Section 3(7) of Customs Tariff Act = NOT an independent charging provision for IGST; merely designates WHEN to collect an existing tax.
Ratio 3: Once transaction is characterized as "supply of services" (repair by foreign MRO = import of services), it CANNOT be taxed again as "import of goods."

Key Evidence

Contracts & Deeds: Primary agreement records and audited financial statements.
Bank & Tax Ledgers: Bank transaction trails, ITR copies, and invoice filings.
Board & Audit Records: Board resolutions and external audit validation documents.

Action Points

Mitigation 1: Retrospective IGST demand (2017–2021) = dead.
Mitigation 2: Prospective IGST demand on current reimports pending SC decision on Delhi HC's constitutionality ruling.
Mitigation 3: Airlines currently benefiting from Delhi HC order (IGST not payable) but SC could reverse if it admits and decides against airlines.