What Types of Goods Are Allowed Under IGCR?

The goods allowed under IGCR are any goods covered by a customs notification entry that makes the concession conditional on the IGCR Rules, 2022, imported for a specified end use such as manufacture or an output service. No product is allowed just because of what it is. What matters is the notification entry and what you will do with the goods.

This is where many guides go wrong. They list metals, fabrics, chemicals or machinery as if whole categories qualify. They do not. A steel coil is allowed under IGCR only if a notification grants a concessional rate on that coil for a stated end use and sets the IGCR procedure as the condition.

How Customs Decides Which Goods Are Allowed Under IGCR

Three things must line up:

1.  A notification entry. The goods must fall under a serial number of an exemption notification, most often Notification No. 50/2017-Customs, that grants a concessional rate

2.  An IGCR condition. That entry must carry the condition that the importer follows the IGCR Rules. In Notification 50/2017 this is Condition No. 9, reworded by Notification 02/2023-Customs to refer to the IGCR Rules, 2022

3.  A matching end use. You must use the goods for exactly the purpose the entry describes, within the permitted period

Rule 13 of the IGCR Rules, 2022 reads older references to the 1996, 2016 or 2017 Rules in any notification as references to the 2022 Rules, so older entries still work.

The 5 Uses That Qualify

The fourth use matters for non-manufacturers. The 2022 Rules extend the procedure to specified end uses that are not manufacture or an output service, so an importer can bring in goods and supply them to an end use recipient where the notification allows it. That is still not general trading. See whether traders can avail IGCR.

Real Examples of Goods Allowed Under IGCR

Recent Budgets show how specific the entries are. Each of these carries an IGCR condition, as listed in the Budget 2024-25 customs changes and the Budget 2025-26 customs changes:

Entries also change the other way. Budget 2025-26 removed the IGCR condition from lab-grown diamond seeds, so those no longer go through the IGCR procedure. Rates shown are as announced in those Budgets, and later Budgets can change them, so always check the current version of the entry before planning imports.

The Simple End-Use Test

Before you apply, ask one question with three parts: is there a notification entry for these goods, does it carry an IGCR condition, and will you use the goods for exactly that purpose within the period? If any answer is no, the goods are not allowed under IGCR, however closely they resemble goods that are.

What Is Not Allowed Under IGCR

Anything that fails the three-part test is outside the goods allowed under IGCR, including:

• Goods bought for resale or trading, with no specified end use
• Goods whose notification entry has no IGCR condition, even if they are inputs
• Goods used for a purpose other than the one in the entry, such as feed inputs used for pet food when the entry says aquatic feed
• After-sales service use, which the output service definition excludes
• Goods not used within the period in the notification, or one year from import where it is silent

Raw Materials, Parts and Capital Goods

Inputs, parts, components, consumables and capital goods can all be goods allowed under IGCR if their entry says so. For capital goods, Rule 10 allows clearance after use on payment of duty on the depreciated value, calculated on a straight-line basis for each quarter of use. More on this in whether IGCR covers raw materials and finished goods.

IGCR can also be used alongside a MOOWR warehouse under Section 65, as clarified in Circular 26/2024-Customs.

How JPARKS INDIA Helps

We check your goods against the live notification entries, confirm the IGCR condition and end use before you import, file IGCR-1 on ICEGATE, set up the bond and handle quarterly returns. JPARKS INDIA is backed by S.K. Agency, AEO-LO customs brokers since 1990. See our IGCR clearance service, email [email protected] or call +91 91673 79073.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What goods are allowed under IGCR?

Goods covered by a notification entry that grants a concessional rate subject to the IGCR Rules, imported for the end use stated in that entry.

Q2. Is there a list of goods allowed under IGCR?

No single list. Check the serial numbers of exemption notifications, mainly Notification 50/2017-Customs, that carry the IGCR condition.

Q3. Can a trader import goods under IGCR?

Only where the notification allows supply to an end use recipient for the specified end use. Plain resale does not qualify.

Q4. Are capital goods allowed under IGCR?

Yes, if the entry covers them. After use they can be cleared on duty charged on the depreciated value.

Q5. What happens if the goods are used for another purpose?

The concession fails. You pay the differential duty with 15% interest, and a penalty can follow.