Importing a container into India: customs duty, IGST and rules

How much is the customs duty on a shipping container in India?

Per ₹1 lakh of customs value, as an example and not a price, the duty and IGST come to:

The three are worked out one after the other. On a dry box with a customs value of ₹1,00,000:

1. Basic customs duty: 10% of the value, ₹10,000.
2. Social welfare surcharge: 10% of that duty, not of the value, ₹1,000. It is not charged on the IGST, and we found no exemption from it for containers.
3. IGST: 18% of the value plus the duty and the surcharge (₹1,11,000), ₹19,980.

That makes ₹30,980, or 30.98% of the value. We found no other duty on containers: the agriculture infrastructure cess is nil for them, and no anti-dumping, countervailing or safeguard duty applies to them. The rates that apply are those of the day the bill of entry is filed, or of the ship’s entry into port if the bill was filed before it arrived.

Customs duty calculator for a container

Enter the customs value of your box, in rupees, and its type:

Can you claim the IGST back?

A GST-registered business that imports the box for its business can usually take the IGST as input tax credit, as it would the GST on a box bought in India (GST and HSN code of containers). The basic duty and the surcharge are not GST and are not credited: they stay a cost, 11% of the value for a dry box and 5.5% for a reefer. A buyer who is not registered pays the whole 30.98%.

What is the customs value of a container?

The price paid for the box, plus the freight and the insurance to the Indian port: the CIF value, under section 14 of the Customs Act. Since 26 September 2017 the 1% landing charges are no longer added to it. What you pay in India after the box lands, at the terminal, to the broker or for the trucking, is not part of that value, but it adds to what the box costs you: count it in the landed cost.

New customs rules for containers in 2026

The Finance Act 2026 split heading 8609 into two tariff items from 1 May 2026: 8609 00 10 for refrigerated containers, at 5%, and 8609 00 90 for all others, at 10%. The duty actually paid did not change: reefers were already at 5% under an exemption. The Union Budget speech of 1 February 2026 also announced a scheme for container manufacturing in India, the scanning of containers at the major ports and a new customs IT system within two years: announcements, not yet rules for an importer.

A container that carries cargo: temporary admission

Most containers that reach India only bring goods. A container of durable nature, such as a shipping line’s box, enters with no duty and no IGST, against a bond to re-export it within 6 months, which customs can extend on sufficient cause (Notification 45/2025-Customs, entry 414, in force since 1 November 2025). According to a copy of a CBIC circular of 11 July 2026, customs now tracks on its ICEGATE system the boxes not re-exported within 6 months, and the lines give a continuity bond without a bank guarantee. If a box neither leaves nor is cleared, customs enforces the bond to recover the duty with interest and may add a penalty, as Nhava Sheva customs reminded the trade in July 2026.

A container that stays: cleared for home consumption

A box bought abroad to be sold, used or converted in India is cleared for home consumption on a bill of entry, and the duty and IGST above are paid. For boxes that came in under the bond, the only text we found is local: a public notice of 2008 of the Nhava Sheva customs house, about containers leased one way into India, says that such a box must be cleared on a bill of entry for home consumption, with the duty paid, before it is used in India. We found no national circular on the sale in India of boxes retired from service.

Buying a foreign container that is already in India

Most used and one-trip boxes sold in India were built abroad. Ask the seller for the number and date of the bill of entry under which the box was cleared, or a copy, with a GST tax invoice: a box still under a shipping line’s bond has not been cleared for use in India. Buying from a container yard and container grades cover the rest of the purchase.

Can you import used containers into India?

Yes. India’s import policy, the ITC(HS) of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), lists both tariff items of containers as free to import, and a condition of its chapter 86 adds that the heading includes second-hand marine containers, whose import is free. Without that condition, used boxes would fall under the general rule of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 (paragraph 2.31), which restricts second-hand goods other than capital goods. The condition still names the tariff line used until April 2026, 8609 00 00: ask your customs broker to confirm the policy for your boxes before you order.

Steel import registration (SIMS)

Another condition of the same chapter requires every import under it, containers included, to be registered under the DGFT’s Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS), online, before the goods arrive. Your broker, or the DGFT’s SIMS portal, gives the fee and the deadlines in force.

Documents needed to import a container

• Importer-Exporter Code (IEC): needed to import, from the DGFT. Only an individual importing for personal use, not connected with trade, manufacture or agriculture, is exempt: a box for a shop, an office or a firm’s storage is connected with trade, so plan on an IEC.
• Bill of entry: filed electronically, often by a customs broker, with the invoice and the shipping documents.
• SIMS registration number, for the steel import registration above.
• Certificate of origin: only to claim a lower duty under a trade agreement.

Is importing a container worth it?

For one or a few boxes, compare delivered prices in India first: boxes sold here should already have paid the duty and the clearance. In our survey of 20 October 2026, a new or one-trip 20 ft box is priced from ₹2,25,000, a used 20 ft from ₹1,04,000 and a used 40 ft from ₹1,55,000, as listed, without GST added (container prices in India). An import adds to the price abroad the ocean freight, the 11% of duty and surcharge that stays a cost, the port and broker charges and the trucking from the port (container delivery); the IGST works like the GST on a box bought here, which a registered business can claim back either way. The rates are the same for a box from China, where most containers are built. Importing makes more sense for a batch of new boxes built to your specification. A few factories also build ISO containers in India: shipping container manufacturers in India names those we could verify.

For a box already in India, partner sellers who cover your PIN code reply with a delivered price: ask each for the bill of entry.

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