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Lithographic plates

Lithographic plates prepared for printing purposes

NO PGA · STANDARD CUSTOMS PROCEDURE

HSN 8442 50 20 (Lithographic plates) 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, bill of entry, commercial invoice, packing list. Other printing machinery, apparatus, and equipment under Chapter 84 — including the machines of headings 8456 to 8465 — may carry distinct compliance obligations, and classification of the printing component against the machine heading is the principal tariff risk.

No partner government agency notification covers this tariff line.
A word of counsel

The absence of compliance at this tariff line does not extend to all printing-related goods within Chapter 84: machinery and apparatus for preparing or making plates may be classified under a different heading that attracts its own compliance regime. Customs re-examination of imported lithographic plates — particularly where they arrive as part of a larger printing system — can trigger re-classification and retrospective duty recovery. Confirm that the goods are correctly described as prepared lithographic plates, distinct from the machinery that exposes or processes them.

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Frequently asked
Does HSN 8442 50 20 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 lithographic plates are imported together with the machinery that processes them?
Plates imported as part of a complete printing system may be re-classified under the machinery heading within Chapter 84, which can attract a different duty rate and, depending on the heading, distinct compliance requirements.
Last verified against gazette notifications: 2026-05-16. Source: BIS / DGFT / Indian Customs CUSDATA.
Related
ChapterChapter 84 · Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereofIndustryIndustrial Machinery industryHSNMACHINERY, APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (OTHER THAN THE MACHINES OF HEADINGS 8456 TO 8465) FOR PREPARING OR MAKING PLATES, PRINTING COMPONENTS; PLATES, CYLINDERS AND LITHOGRAPHIC STONES, PREPARED FOR PRINTING PURPOSES (FOR EXAMPLE, PLANED, GRAINED OR POLISHED)