Push button type

Push button telephone sets, wireline and PSTN terminals

WPC CLEARANCE

HSN 8517 18 10 (Push button type telephone) is subject to Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) import licensing under the Indian Telegraph Act and the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2017, with mandatory type certification under the Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecom Equipment (MTCTE) framework administered by the Department of Telecommunications. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Restricted-import policy applies to multichannel GSM/CDMA transceivers under General Note 16, and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Instructions 16/2022-CUS and 24/2024-CUS govern customs-level verification of WPC licensing and Equipment Type Approval.

What this is

HSN code

8517 18 10

Chapter

85 · Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof

Primary regulator

WPC · Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2017; MTCTE mandatory certification

Customs documentation

Import licence from WPC
Equipment Type Approval from DoT
MTCTE certification from TEC

Applicable Partner Government Agencies

WPCWPC·Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing

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

Compliance steps

1
Obtain a WPC import licence before shipment dispatch. Telecom service providers may apply on the SaralSanchar portal at least 30 days prior to arrival; the system-generated self-declaration certificate is available for download 48 hours after application and is accepted by customs. For non-TSP importers, route the application through the standard WPC Wing process under DoT F.No. R-11018/02/2017-PP dated 06-07-2022.
CBIC Instruction 16/2022-CUS dated 21-07-2022 · CBIC Instruction 23/2021 dated 23-11-2021 · DoT OM F.No. R-11017/02/2021-PP dated 21-10-2021
2
Confirm the specific product variant is notified under MTCTE and holds a valid TEC type-certification certificate. Push button telephone instruments — including key telephone systems, PABX, PSTN terminals, ISDN CPE, cordless telephones, coin box telephones, 2-line feature phones, and CLIP phones — are subject to mandatory testing and certification under DoT Notifications TEC/01/2017-TC dated 04-07-2019 and 23-06-2020, as amended by F.No. 5-2/2021-TC/TEC/131 dated 13-06-2022 and F.No. 5-2/2024-TC/TEC (Pt.1) dated 25-02-2025.
Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2017 · DoT Notification TEC/01/2017-TC dated 04-07-2019 and 23-06-2020 · CBIC Instruction 15/2020-CUS dated 24-07-2020
3
Where the equipment operates in a licence-exempt band with low transmission power, obtain Equipment Type Approval (ETA) via self-declaration on saralsanchar.gov.in and upload the ETA certificate at the bill of entry. Customs officers will verify the certificate by scanning the QR code on SaralSanchar. Multichannel GSM/CDMA receivers, transmitters and transceivers of two or more frequencies simultaneously remain Restricted under General Note 16 of the ITC (HS) policy and are not eligible for the ETA self-declaration route.
CBIC Instruction 24/2024-CUS dated 22-10-2024 · DoT letter ETA-WPC/Policy/2018-19 dated 12-04-2019 · DoT R-11018/05/2019-PP dated 29-03-2019 · General Note 16 of ITC (HS) policy

A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is treating the SaralSanchar self-declaration ETA route as universally available — it applies only to licence-exempt-band, low-power wireless equipment. Push button telephone instruments with PSTN, ISDN, or PABX functionality are MTCTE-notified products that require a pre-import TEC type-certification certificate, not merely an ETA self-declaration; submitting an ETA certificate at the bill of entry for an MTCTE-notified product will result in consignment detention and demands for the missing TEC certification before out-of-charge is granted.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 8517 18 10 require BIS certification?

No, push button telephone sets are not covered by a BIS Quality Control Order. Import is governed by Wireless Planning and Coordination licensing under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2017 and the MTCTE mandatory type-certification framework administered by the Department of Telecommunications.

Which specific telephone products under this HSN require MTCTE mandatory testing and certification?

Executive telephone systems, NSD/ISD payphones, electronic telephone instruments, key telephone systems, 2-line feature phones, coin box telephones, PSTN terminals, CLIP phones, ISDN CPE, cordless telephones, and PABX are all notified under the MTCTE framework per DoT Notifications TEC/01/2017-TC dated 04-07-2019 and 23-06-2020, as amended.

Are satellite phones and signal boosters importable under this tariff line?

No. Import and use of satellite phones is restricted under the Indian Telegraph Act, and DoT has issued an advisory (PIB Release ID 1839030) warning against improper use of signal jammers and boosters/repeaters; import of such devices without explicit authorisation attracts enforcement under applicable telecommunications law.

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