IGCR Registration: Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty

What is IGCR?

The full form of IGCR is Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty. In customs, the IGCR scheme is the procedure you follow to clear imported goods at a concessional or nil rate of duty when the exemption notification makes that benefit depend on how the goods are used: to manufacture something, to provide an output service, or for another end use the notification specifies.

The procedure is set out in the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty or for Specified End Use) Rules, 2022, made under section 156 of the Customs Act, 1962 by Notification 74/2022-Customs (N.T.) and in force from 10 September 2022. CBIC calls them the IGCRS Rules, 2022. They replaced the IGCR Rules, 2017, and any reference to the older rules is now read as a reference to the 2022 Rules.

What you need to know about the law today:

• When the Rules apply. Either the notification says the IGCR Rules must be followed, or the notification benefit depends on the goods being used for manufacture, an output service or a specified end use.
• The notification you claim under. The main exemption notification is now 45/2025-Customs, in force from 1 November 2025, which replaced 50/2017-Customs. Its IGCR condition (Condition No. 3 for Table I and Condition No. 1 for Table II) allows the concession only if you follow the IGCR procedure.
• The 2025 amendment. Notification 07/2025-Customs (N.T.), in force from 2 February 2025, made the IGCR-3 return quarterly, gave one year instead of six months for end use where the notification sets no period, and raised the time goods can stay with a job worker from six months to one year.

There is no separate IGCR certificate or licence under the Rules. When people ask for an IGCR certificate or IGCR registration, they mean the IIN that ICEGATE generates once your prior intimation is accepted. You quote it, with your bond number, on every Bill of Entry that claims the concession.

Who is eligible for IGCR?

Any importer whose goods are covered by a notification entry that carries the IGCR condition, and whose purpose matches that entry. Form IGCR-1 recognises five purposes:

• Manufacturing: inputs or components used to make a new product at your unit or at a job worker’s unit.
• Provision of output service: goods used to supply a service. After-sales service does not count.
• Specified end use: goods dealt with in the way the notification specifies.
• Supply to an end use recipient: goods supplied to the person the notification intends, under an invoice or e-way bill.
• Export of goods: where the intended purpose is to export goods made using the imported goods.

Special cases

• Job work. You can send goods to a job worker under an invoice or e-way bill, and they can stay there for up to one year. Job work under the Rules excludes gold, jewellery and other precious metals and stones. You stay responsible for the end use of goods sent for job work.
• EOUs. Since September 2024, EOU clearances under Notification 52/2003-Customs run through the IGCR module, with an IIN and an IGCR bond.
• MOOWR units. A unit operating under MOOWR (section 65) can claim an IGCR exemption at the same time as MOOWR duty deferment, provided it also meets the IGCR conditions, including the time limits (Circular 26/2024-Customs).
• SEZ units. Read whether IGCR applies to importers in an SEZ or only in the DTA.

Who cannot use it

• A trader who buys the goods to resell them. Supply counts only where the notification provides for supply to an end use recipient, and the goods go to that recipient for the specified use.
• Anyone importing goods whose notification entry has no IGCR condition. The procedure creates no concession of its own.
• Simplified (non-DSC) ICEGATE users, until they de-register and register again with a Digital Signature Certificate.

Not sure about your goods? See what types of goods are allowed under IGCR.

IGCR benefits: what you save

The saving is the difference between the standard duty on the goods and the concessional rate in the notification entry, taken at clearance on every Bill of Entry that quotes your IIN. Beyond the duty itself:

• One registration for repeated imports. The IIN is generated once for each unit, and IINs and bonds created from FY 2024-25 carry forward into later years. There is no yearly renewal for these.
• Light security for compliant importers. No bank guarantee for AEOs, government departments and PSUs, and lighter norms for GST-compliant manufacturers and service providers (see the bond section below).
• Bond limits freed quickly. Consumption reported in Form IGCR-3A re-credits the bond automatically.
• A way out for unused goods. Goods you cannot use can be re-exported, or cleared on paying the duty and interest, within the permitted period.
• Capital goods can be cleared later on duty worked out on a depreciated value, once they have been used for the specified purpose.

Note: an illustration with round numbers, not the rates of any real entry. If the standard basic customs duty on an input is 10% and the notification entry allows 0%, a consignment with an assessable value of Rs 10,00,000 saves Rs 1,00,000 in basic customs duty. If you expect 12 such consignments in the year, basic customs duty alone accounts for Rs 12,00,000 of duty foregone. Social Welfare Surcharge and the IGST on that duty also count, which takes the estimated duty foregone, and so your bond amount, to Rs 15,57,600 at an illustrative 10% SWS and 18% IGST. The real figure depends on the entry and the other duties on the goods, so we work it out for yours.

For the full method, read how to calculate duty saved under IGCR.

How IGCR registration works on ICEGATE

Registration is online and done once for each unit:

1. Confirm the notification entry. Match each item’s CTH to an entry that carries the IGCR condition (most sit in Notification 45/2025-Customs) and fix your intended purpose. Every later step depends on getting this right.
2. Register on ICEGATE with a DSC. IGCR sits in ICEGATE 2.0 under Services, IGCR, IGCR 2.0 module. If you hold a simplified login, you must register again with a DSC. We handle ICEGATE registration too.
3. File the prior intimation in Form IGCR-1. This is one-time information: importer and job worker details, the goods made or processes carried out at your facility, the goods imported, the notification and its serial number, any output service, unit transfer premises, end use recipient details and the intended ports of import. You confirm it by OTP.
4. Get your IIN. ICEGATE generates the IIN once the information is accepted. IINs are unit-wise, so one IEC or GSTIN can hold more than one. Goods, CTH, purpose, ports and manufacturing details can be updated later.
5. Execute the continuity bond. Raise the bond request under Bond/BG Details, submit the physical bond with the surety or security to the jurisdictional Customs officer, and once it is accepted and numbered in the Customs system, link it to your IIN. One IIN links to one bond.
6. Import under the IIN. Quote the IIN and the bond number and details in the Bill of Entry. The Deputy or Assistant Commissioner at the port allows the concession, and the bond is debited automatically when the goods are cleared for home consumption.
7. Receive and record. Keep the account the Rules require from the first consignment, and report any non-receipt or short receipt at once in Form IGCR-2.

Which Customs office? The bond goes to the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner with jurisdiction over the premises where the goods will be used for manufacture or for the output service. In other cases, such as specified end use, it is the office with jurisdiction over the primary address in your IEC.

Documents we need from you

For a first look, send what you have. Once we have checked the notification, we tell you what else the Customs office will want.

• IEC, GSTIN and the principal address of the business
• The Digital Signature Certificate of the authorised signatory, and your ICEGATE login if you already have one
• A list of the goods you will import: CTH, description, and estimated quantity and value for the year
• The notification and serial number you intend to claim, if you know it
• What you make or the service you provide with the goods, and the address and GSTIN of each unit where they will be used
• GSTIN (or PAN) and address of each job worker or end use recipient, if any
• The ports where the goods will land
• For the security category: your AEO certificate, or your GST return record and last year’s turnover, if you qualify for the lighter norms
• Catalogues or data sheets for any item whose classification is unclear

Continuity bond and security

The continuity bond is your undertaking to Customs. If the goods are not used as the notification requires, you pay the duty you did not pay at import, plus interest at the section 28AA rate, currently 15% a year. Where the notification is not an exemption, the undertaking is for an amount equal to the assessable value. The bond amount is the duty you expect to forgo during the financial year.

The security that goes with it follows Circular 18/2022-Customs:

• No bank guarantee and no surety: government departments, PSUs and autonomous institutes under them, Authorised Economic Operators, and nominated agencies importing gold under the India UAE CEPA.
• Surety for the duty foregone, or, where surety is not possible, a bank guarantee or cash security of not more than 5% of the bond debit value: GST-registered manufacturers and service providers who have filed their GST returns without fail and had turnover above Rs 1 crore in the preceding year.
• Bank guarantee or cash security of not more than 25% of the bond debit value: every other importer.

For the full walk-through, read our IGCR bond guide, and for how the guarantee itself works, see what a bank guarantee for customs is.

After import: your obligations

The IIN is the easy part. The concession holds only while you keep these up:

• Records. A Bill of Entry wise account of goods imported, received, consumed, sent for and back from job work, supplied, re-exported and in stock, produced when the jurisdictional officer asks.
• Form IGCR-2. Report non-receipt or short receipt of goods immediately.
• Form IGCR-3, every quarter. Filed IIN-wise by 10 April, 10 July, 10 October and 10 January for the quarter just ended, in sequence, and as a NIL return when nothing moved. The return has been quarterly since 2 February 2025. Read how to file the IGCR-3 quarterly return.
• Form IGCR-3A, when it helps. Optional. Report consumption at any time for an automatic bond re-credit, and the details flow into your next quarterly return. See IGCR Form 3A explained.
• End use on time. Use the goods within the period in the notification or, where it sets none, within one year from the date of import (the date of the out of charge order).
• Job work, unit transfer and end use recipients. Goods move under an invoice or e-way bill and are reported in the quarterly return. Goods can stay with a job worker for up to one year, and the job worker keeps its own account.
• Unused or defective goods. Within the same period, re-export them at a value not less than their value at import, or clear them for home consumption by paying the duty and interest voluntarily on the portal. Both go into the quarterly return.
• Capital goods. After use for the specified purpose, you may clear them on paying the duty difference plus interest on a depreciated value: 4% for each quarter in the first year, 3% in the second and third years, 2.5% in the fourth and fifth years, and 2% after that. Part of a quarter counts as a full quarter.

Note: a machine used for exactly two years before clearance is depreciated by 16% (four quarters at 4%) plus 12% (four quarters at 3%), 28% in all, so the duty is worked out on 72% of its value, plus interest.

When the imports are over and every consignment is accounted for, close it out properly: see how to close an IGCR bond once imports are completed.

If something goes wrong

IGCR breaches are expensive because Customs already holds your bond.

• Recovery under rule 11. If goods are not used within the period, or the duty on a home clearance or capital goods clearance is unpaid or short paid, the jurisdictional Deputy or Assistant Commissioner invokes the bond to recover the duty difference plus section 28AA interest (15% a year) from the date of import to the date of payment. Where the notification is not an exemption, the amount is equal to the assessable value.
• Penalty under rule 12. An importer or job worker who contravenes the Rules, or abets a contravention, is liable to a penalty of up to Rs 2 lakh under section 158(2)(ii).
• Confiscation. Goods exempted subject to a condition that is not observed are liable to confiscation under section 111(o), unless the proper officer sanctioned the non-observance.
• Other action. All of this is without prejudice to any other action under the Customs Act.

Most of these risks start small: a missed return, goods used at an undeclared unit, or an end use deadline nobody tracked. Read more on penalties for IGCR non-compliance.

How IGCR compares with other duty schemes

IGCR is one of several ways to lower or defer duty on imports. MOOWR (section 65 of the Customs Act) defers duty while goods stay in a bonded unit, and a MOOWR unit can claim an IGCR exemption at the same time if it also meets the IGCR conditions, including the time limits (Circular 26/2024-Customs). EPCG, Advance Authorisation and project imports follow different rules; we compare each with IGCR in separate guides.

The detail matters for your case, so read IGCR vs EPCG, IGCR vs Advance Authorisation and IGCR vs project import. For manufacturing in a bonded unit, see our MOOWR scheme service.

What JPARKS handles, timelines and fees

As your IGCR consultant, we run IGCR end to end, or take over the parts you would rather not keep in-house:

• Checking your goods and purpose against the notification entry before anything is filed
• ICEGATE registration with a DSC, if you do not have it yet
• Form IGCR-1 prior intimation and IIN generation, and updates later when your goods, units or ports change
• Continuity bond drafting, the security working, and follow up with the jurisdictional Customs office
• Quarterly IGCR-3 returns, IGCR-3A for bond re-credit, and IGCR-2 where needed
• Workings for re-export, home clearance and capital goods clearance
• Closing the bond when your imports end

• Typical timeline, ICEGATE side About 4 business days
• Bond acceptance Set by Customs
• Quarterly IGCR-3 filing On enquiry
• IGCR-3A, IIN updates, bond closure On enquiry
• IGCR registration (ICEGATE, IGCR-1, IIN) Price on enquiry

The timeline runs from a complete document set. Fees depend on the number of units, items and job workers, so we quote in writing after a short review.