½” video cassette suitable to work with digital VCR

Unrecorded half-inch video cassette for digital VCR

DGFT CLEARANCE

HSN 8523 41 50 (½″ video cassette suitable to work with digital VCR) is governed by the ITC (HS) import policy administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under Policy Condition No. 1 to Chapters 85 and 37. Any recorded content on imported film media must comply with all applicable Indian laws governing film distribution and exhibition, including a certificate of public exhibition under the Cinematograph Act, 1952. Import of foreign reprints of Indian films requires prior written permission from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

What this is

HSN code

8523 41 50

Chapter

85 · Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof

Primary regulator

DGFT · ITC (HS) import policy, Policy Condition No. 1 to Chapters 85 and 37

Customs documentation

Certificate of public exhibition from CBFC
Ministry of I&B permission for Indian film reprints
ITC (HS) policy compliance declaration to DGFT

Compliance steps

1
Ensure no unauthorised or pirated film content is imported. Where the cassette carries recorded cinematographic or other film content, the importer must hold a certificate of public exhibition issued under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, before the bill of entry is filed.
Policy Condition No. 1 to Chapter 85 and Chapter 37 of ITC (HS) · Cinematograph Act, 1952
2
If the consignment comprises foreign reprints of Indian films, obtain prior written permission from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting before shipment. Consignments arriving without this permission are liable to detention and are not eligible for out-of-charge.
Policy Condition No. 1 to Chapter 85 and Chapter 37 of ITC (HS)

A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is treating unrecorded cassettes as entirely outside the film-content regime and failing to anticipate that any subsequent recording or declared pre-recording of cinematographic material immediately attracts the Cinematograph Act, 1952 certificate requirement. Importers who declare media as blank but whose invoice or packing list references film titles attract scrutiny from customs, with consignment detention pending production of the public-exhibition certificate or the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting authorisation.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 8523 41 50 require BIS certification?

No, unrecorded video cassettes for digital VCRs are not covered by any BIS Quality Control Order. Import is governed by the ITC (HS) policy administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade under Policy Condition No. 1 to Chapters 85 and 37, with obligations under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 where film content is involved.

Does the Cinematograph Act certificate requirement apply to genuinely unrecorded blank cassettes?

The certificate of public exhibition under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 is triggered by the import of cinematographic and other film content; a genuinely blank, unrecorded cassette does not carry recorded content and the certificate requirement does not arise at the bill-of-entry stage for such goods.

What happens if a foreign reprint of an Indian film is imported without Ministry of Information and Broadcasting permission?

Import of foreign reprints of Indian films without prior written permission from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is prohibited under Policy Condition No. 1 to Chapter 85, and the consignment is liable to detention, confiscation, and re-export at the importer's cost.

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