Audio-visual news or audio visual views

Audio-visual news and views on recorded media

DGFT CLEARANCE

HSN 8523 80 30 (Audio-visual news or audio visual views) is subject to the ITC (HS) import policy administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), which prohibits the import of unauthorised or pirated films and requires compliance with all applicable Indian laws governing distribution and exhibition of films. A certificate of public exhibition under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 is mandatory, and foreign reprints of Indian films require prior written permission from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

What this is

HSN code

8523 80 30

Chapter

85 · Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof

Primary regulator

DGFT · ITC (HS) policy condition 1 to Chapter 85 and 37

Customs documentation

Certificate of public exhibition from CBFC
Prior written permission from Ministry of I&B
ITC (HS) policy compliance declaration

Compliance steps

1
Verify that the film or audio-visual content being imported is not unauthorised or pirated. Obtain a certificate of public exhibition issued under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 before filing the bill of entry; import without this certificate renders the consignment liable to seizure and confiscation.
ITC (HS) policy condition 1 to Chapter 85 and 37
2
If the consignment is a foreign reprint of an Indian film, obtain prior written permission from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting before shipment. Imports of such reprints without this permission are prohibited under the ITC (HS) policy and will be detained at the port of entry.
ITC (HS) policy condition 1 to Chapter 85 and 37

A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is conflating the general prohibition on pirated content with the narrower requirement for a public-exhibition certificate: an importer may hold a lawfully licensed copy of a film yet still face detention if the Cinematograph Act certificate of public exhibition has not been secured prior to arrival. The certificate must be in place before the bill of entry is filed — it cannot be obtained retrospectively at the port — and any foreign reprint of an Indian film triggers a separate prior-permission requirement from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that is independent of the exhibition certificate.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 8523 80 30 require BIS certification?

No, audio-visual news and views on recorded media are not within the BIS Quality Control Order regime. Import is governed by the ITC (HS) policy administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, requiring a certificate of public exhibition under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and prohibiting unauthorised or pirated content.

Does the certificate of public exhibition requirement apply to all audio-visual imports under this HSN?

Yes. The ITC (HS) policy condition 1 to Chapter 85 and 37 requires that any importer of cinematographic or other films — including content on video tape, compact video disc, laser video disc or digital video disc — comply with the Cinematograph Act, 1952 exhibition-certificate requirement.

What are the consequences of importing a foreign reprint of an Indian film without Ministry of Information and Broadcasting permission?

Such import is expressly prohibited under the ITC (HS) policy; the consignment is liable to detention, confiscation, and monetary penalty under the Customs Act, 1962, and the importer faces enforcement action for contravening the ITC (HS) Restricted-import condition.

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