Hookah or gudaku tobacco

Hookah and gudaku water pipe tobacco

MOHFW CLEARANCE

HSN 2403 11 10 (Hookah or gudaku tobacco) 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 tariff line is governed by General Note 13 of the ITC (HS) Schedule administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Instruction 02/2023 applies at the bill-of-entry stage.

What this is

HSN code

2403 11 10

Chapter

24 · Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes

Primary regulator

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

Customs documentation

Labelling compliance declaration from MOHFW
Health warning conformance from CBIC
ITC (HS) General Note 13 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 imported hookah or gudaku tobacco consignments carry the updated health warnings notified by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2022. The new warning set is mandatory with effect from 1 December 2022 and applies to every unit of packaging at the point of import.
GSR 592(E) dated 21-07-2022 · MOHFW letter D.O.P.16011/02/2017-TC (PART-1) dated 09-12-2022
2
Verify that the consignment's packaging and labelling are fully compliant with General Note 13 of the ITC (HS) Schedule before filing the bill of entry. Non-compliant consignments are liable to detention and ground rent pending rectification or re-export.
General Note 13 of the ITC (HS) Schedule · CBIC Instruction 02/2023 dated 07-01-2023

A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is shipping consignments packaged under the pre-2022 health-warning specifications, which were superseded with effect from 1 December 2022. Customs officers are instructed under CBIC Instruction 02/2023 to verify the updated warning panels at the bill-of-entry stage; a consignment carrying obsolete warnings faces detention and cannot be relabelled at the port — it is treated as a packaging non-compliance requiring re-export or confiscation rather than a rectifiable labelling defect.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 2403 11 10 require BIS certification?

No, hookah and gudaku tobacco is outside the BIS Quality Control Order regime. 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 rules apply at the bill of entry for this tariff line?

The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2022, notified via GSR 592(E) dated 21 July 2022 and operative from 1 December 2022, prescribe the current mandatory warning set; CBIC Instruction 02/2023 dated 07 January 2023 directs customs officers to enforce compliance at the bill-of-entry stage.

Can labelling deficiencies on hookah tobacco be rectified after the consignment arrives at the Indian port?

No. Packaging non-compliance under the COTPA Amendment Rules, 2022 is treated as a substantive import-condition failure, not a rectifiable labelling defect, and exposes the consignment to detention, re-export, or confiscation under the customs and COTPA enforcement framework.

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