No, the MOOWR scheme shutting down is not what is happening. MOOWR continues to operate under Sections 58 and 65 of the Customs Act, 1962, and remains available to eligible importers and manufacturers across India. No notification withdraws the scheme.
That said, the honest position is more nuanced than most reassurances suggest. MOOWR has been meaningfully narrowed since 2023, and the government now holds a statutory power to exclude classes of goods and operations from it. Treating the recent changes as purely administrative would understate the risk.
MOOWR was notified under Notification No. 69/2019-Customs (N.T.) dated 1 October 2019 and remains in force. Licences granted under it have no fixed expiry and require no periodic renewal. Units already operating continue to enjoy duty deferment on warehoused capital goods and inputs.
What has changed is the scope of the scheme and the certainty of its benefits, not its existence.
These are the changes that matter, and several are legislative rather than procedural:
This is the most consequential change and it is widely under-discussed. Before the 2024 amendment, Section 65 permitted manufacture and other operations on any warehoused goods, with no words of qualification. The Delhi High Court relied on exactly that breadth in ACME Heergarh Powertech.
The new proviso reverses the position. The Central Government can now exclude a class of goods or operations by notification, without advance notice. For a unit that has invested in a bonded facility on the strength of duty deferment, that is a genuine planning risk: benefits could be removed and a large deferred duty liability could crystallise.
Much of the MOOWR scheme shutting down talk traces to Instruction No. 13/2022-Customs dated 9 July 2022, which told customs officers not to grant fresh MOOWR licences to solar power generating units and to review existing ones. Show cause notices followed, and the trade read it as the beginning of the end.
In ACME Heergarh Powertech, decided on 6 May 2024, the Delhi High Court quashed that Instruction insofar as it mandated review of existing licences and follow-up action. The Court held that Section 65 contains no limiting language as to the nature of goods, and that cancellation is a quasi-judicial function which the Board cannot direct under Section 151A. See our guide on whether customs can revoke MOOWR approval.
Despite talk of the MOOWR scheme shutting down, for most manufacturers it remains worth applying for. MOOWR still offers duty deferment on capital goods and inputs with no export obligation, no geographic restriction, no time limit on warehousing, and no interest liability. Compared with EPCG, Advance Authorisation, or SEZ, it remains the most flexible option for a unit selling into the domestic market.
The caveats are real, though. There is no duty drawback or RoDTEP on exports from a MOOWR unit, no depreciation relief on capital goods, and the Section 65A withdrawal of IGST exemption is on the statute book awaiting notification. Sector-specific exclusions are now possible by notification.
Run a risk analysis rather than assume permanence. Confirm your resultant goods and operations sit clearly within Section 65 as it now stands, per CBIC guidance. Model the cash-flow impact if the Section 65A IGST withdrawal is notified. Keep records and monthly returns immaculate, because a compliance lapse invites cancellation under Section 58B regardless of policy direction. Consider whether EPCG or Advance Authorisation could serve as a fallback if your class of operations were ever excluded.
At JPARKS INDIA, we advise MOOWR applicants and existing units on the scheme as it actually stands in 2026, not as it stood in 2019. We assess whether your operations fall within the amended Section 65, prepare applications for direct filing with the jurisdictional Commissioner, set up compliant record-keeping and returns, and model the duty exposure if benefits change. Having served 500+ importers and exporters since 2018, we keep bonded facilities viable. Learn more about our MOOWR scheme services or book a free consultation.
No. MOOWR remains in force under Sections 58 and 65 of the Customs Act, 1962. No notification withdraws it. However, the Finance (No.2) Act, 2024 empowers the government to exclude classes of goods and operations by notification.
A proviso was inserted into Section 65(1) allowing the Central Government to notify manufacturing processes and other operations, in relation to a class of goods, that will not be permitted in a MOOWR unit.
Section 65A, introduced by the Finance Act 2023, provides for withdrawal of the IGST exemption. The effective date has not yet been notified, so the exemption continues in practice, but the statutory basis for removal exists.
The Delhi High Court in ACME Heergarh Powertech quashed the CBIC Instruction that sought to review and cancel solar unit licences. A separate notification effective 17 December 2024 restricts warehousing where electricity is the resultant good.
The Invest India MOOWR portal stopped accepting applications in late 2025. Applications under Sections 58 and 65 must now be filed directly with the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs in the prescribed physical format.
