The Delhi High Court on Friday, December 19, 2025, asked the Customs Department to respond to a plea filed by InterGlobe Aviation, IndiGo airline’s parent, seeking a refund of over ₹900 crore paid as customs duty.

The duty was paid on aircraft engines and parts that were sent abroad for repairs and later re-imported into India.

A Bench, comprising Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice Vinod Kumar, issued a notice to the Deputy Commissioner (Refund) at the Air Cargo Complex (Import) under the Principal Commissioner of Customs. The court directed the authorities to file their response within two weeks. The matter has been listed for the next hearing on April 8, 2026.

In its plea, InterGlobe Aviation argued that the customs duty collected on the re-import of repaired aircraft engines and parts is unconstitutional and amounts to double taxation on the same transaction.

The airline said that when engines and parts are sent abroad for repairs, the repair work is treated as a service. As required by law, IndiGo paid Goods and Services Tax (GST) on these repair services under the reverse charge mechanism.

However, when the repaired parts were brought back into India, the Customs Department treated them as a fresh import of goods and demanded customs duty again, the airline claimed.

InterGlobe told the court that it had paid the basic customs duty at the time of re-import, without any dispute, to avoid operational delays. However, the airline said it paid the duty under protest.

According to the plea, IndiGo paid customs duty for more than 4,000 bills of entry, amounting to over ₹900 crore.

Later, when the airline filed refund claims, the Customs Department rejected them, stating that IndiGo must first seek reassessment of each individual bill of entry before a refund could be considered.

InterGlobe also pointed out that the issue had already been settled earlier by the Customs Tribunal, which ruled that customs duty cannot be levied again on aircraft parts that are re-imported after repairs.

Although the government later amended the relevant exemption notification, the tribunal had held that the amendment would apply only prospectively, and not to past cases.

The Customs Department opposed IndiGo’s plea, arguing that it was premature. The department’s lawyer informed the High Court that a related issue is currently pending before the Supreme Court.

However, he also admitted that the Supreme Court has not passed any stay order in the matter and requested time to file a detailed reply.

After hearing both sides, the Delhi High Court granted time to the Customs department to file its counter affidavit and scheduled the next hearing for April 8, 2026.

The case is being closely watched by the aviation industry, as it could have significant financial implications for airlines that routinely send aircraft components overseas for maintenance and repairs.