Cigarillos

Cigarillos and cigarillo-type tobacco products

MOHFW CLEARANCE

HSN 2402 10 20 (Cigarillos) is subject to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) packaging and labelling requirements under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2022, operative from 1 December 2022. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) administers the ITC (HS) import policy under General Note 13, and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) customs-clearance oversight applies concurrently.

What this is

HSN code

2402 10 20

Chapter

24 · Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes

Primary regulator

MOHFW · Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2022

Customs documentation

Health warning compliance declaration from MOHFW
Label specimen from importer
ITC (HS) policy declaration from DGFT

Applicable Partner Government Agencies

MOHFWMOHFW·Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Procedural directions for customs clearance are issued by: Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.

Compliance steps

1
Ensure all cigarillo packaging affixes the new set of health warnings notified by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under GSR 592(E) dated 21-07-2022 with effect from 1 December 2022. Non-conforming packaging renders the consignment liable to detention and refusal of out-of-charge at the customs station.
GSR 592(E) dated 21-07-2022 · MOHFW letter D.O.P.16011/02/2017-TC (PART-1) dated 09-12-2022
2
Verify compliance with General Note 13 of the ITC (HS) Schedule before filing the bill of entry. Upload the label specimen and health-warning compliance documentation in e-Sanchit, as the proper officer is required to confirm label conformity before granting out-of-charge per CBIC Instruction 02/2023.
CBIC Instruction 02/2023 dated 07-01-2023 · General Note 13 of the ITC (HS) Schedule

A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is shipping cigarillos with packaging produced under the pre-2022 health-warning specification, on the assumption that compliant labelling can be applied after customs clearance. The COTPA Amendment Rules, 2022 require conforming health warnings on the physical packaging presented at the customs station; consignments with non-conforming labels are detained pending re-labelling or re-export, and rectification inside the customs area is not treated as equivalent to pre-shipment compliance.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 2402 10 20 require BIS certification?

No, no BIS Quality Control Order covers cigarillos or manufactured tobacco products. Import is governed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2022, with the ITC (HS) General Note 13 policy condition administered by DGFT.

Which specific health-warning requirements apply to imported cigarillos under the 2022 Amendment Rules?

The new set of health warnings notified via GSR 592(E) dated 21-07-2022 is mandatory with effect from 1 December 2022; details are available on the MOHFW website and were clarified to importers by MOHFW letter D.O.P.16011/02/2017-TC (PART-1) dated 09-12-2022.

What happens if a cigarillo consignment arrives with packaging that does not carry the updated health warnings?

The proper officer will withhold out-of-charge clearance; the consignment is liable to detention, and the importer faces the choice of supervised re-export or destruction, as rectification of health-warning labelling at the customs station does not satisfy the pre-import compliance obligation under the Amendment Rules, 2022.

Last verified against gazette notifications: 2026-05-16. Source: MOHFW / DGFT / CBIC / Indian Customs CUSDATA.