Other
Antibiotic medicaments in measured doses, retail packings
HSN 3004 20 99 (Other antibiotic-containing medicaments) is subject to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) import licensing and drug registration under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) classifies this tariff line as Restricted under the ITC (HS) import policy, and specific antibiotic formulations — including chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, and oxytocin — carry outright import prohibitions operative by MOHFW notification.
- Registration certificate from CDSCO
- Import licence for drugs from DGCI
- Batch release certificate from manufacturer
Procedural directions for customs clearance are issued by: Directorate General of Foreign Trade.
- 1Ensure the drug registration certificate (document code 101dc1) and the import licence for drugs (document code 9111dc) are current and in the name of the importer before the bill of entry is filed. Both must be uploaded in e-Sanchit together with the Certificate of Analysis (document code 0010dc), batch release certificate (document code 0030dc), and label of consignment (document code 0110dc) prior to customs out-of-charge.e-Sanchit mandatory document codes 101dc1, 9111dc, 0010dc, 0030dc, 0110dc · Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
- 2Verify that the specific antibiotic formulation is not subject to an import prohibition before placing the purchase order. Import of chloramphenicol and its formulations, and nitrofurans and its formulations, for use in any food-producing animal rearing system is prohibited with immediate effect. Import of oxytocin is prohibited outright; oxytocin reference standards may be imported exclusively for test and analysis subject to a test licence issued by DGCI/CDSCO.S.O. 1158(E) dated 12-03-2025 (MOHFW) · S.O. 2357(E) dated 23-05-2022 · DGFT Notification 09/2015-2020 dated 23-05-2022
- 3If the consignment includes used or refurbished high-end, high-value medical equipment components, confirm compliance with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change conditions for restricted import of such equipment. This overlay applies where the consignment falls within the scope of the O.M. dated 15-12-2023.O.M. issued by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change dated 15-12-2023
The most common error on this tariff line is importing an antibiotic formulation that is prohibited for a specific end-use — particularly chloramphenicol and nitrofuran formulations intended for food-producing animal rearing — without recognising that the prohibition under S.O. 1158(E) is use-based and not dependent on the declared therapeutic category on the invoice. A consignment correctly registered as a drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 may still face confiscation at the bill-of-entry stage if the end-use or the species label triggers the food-animal prohibition; importers must obtain explicit confirmation of end-use scope from MOHFW before shipment.