Newspapers

Newspapers, not appearing more than four times weekly

NO PGA · STANDARD CUSTOMS PROCEDURE

HSN 4902 90 10 (Newspapers) is not covered by a Bureau of Indian Standards Quality Control Order and carries no Partner Government Agency clearance requirement at the tariff-line level. Import follows the standard customs procedure: Importer-Exporter Code (IEC), bill of entry, commercial invoice, packing list. Other printed matter within Chapter 49 — including periodicals, journals, and illustrated publications — may be classified under distinct tariff lines that attract their own compliance considerations.

No partner government agency notification covers this tariff line.

A word of counsel

The principal importer risk for printed publications is misclassification: newspapers appearing more than four times weekly are classified separately within heading 4902, and illustrated or advertising-heavy publications may fall under different subheadings. Customs re-classification to a sibling tariff line can trigger retrospective duty recovery and detention pending resolution. Verify publication frequency, content type, and whether the title qualifies as a newspaper under the customs tariff before filing the bill of entry.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 4902 90 10 require any pre-import registration?

A valid Importer-Exporter Code is required for any commercial import; no product-specific registration applies to this tariff line.

What changes if the newspaper is published more than four times a week?

Publications appearing more than four times weekly are classified under a separate tariff line within heading 4902 and may attract different duty treatment on customs examination.

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