Designed for the carriage of passengers

Unmanned aircraft designed for passenger carriage

DGFT CLEARANCE

HSN 8806 10 00 (Unmanned aircraft designed for the carriage of passengers) is subject to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) import authorisation under the ITC (HS) Restricted/Prohibited import policy, Chapter 88, Policy Condition No. 03. Import of such drones in Completely-Built-Up (CBU), Semi-Knocked-Down (SKD) or Completely-Knocked-Down (CKD) form is Prohibited except for government entities, recognised R&D institutions, drone manufacturers importing for R&D, and defence and security purposes — each requiring prior DGFT authorisation issued in consultation with concerned line ministries.

What this is

HSN code

8806 10 00

Chapter

88 · Aircraft, spacecraft and parts thereof

Primary regulator

DGFT · ITC (HS) Prohibited import policy with exceptions, Chapter 88 Policy Condition No. 03

Customs documentation

Import authorisation from DGFT
NOC from concerned line ministries
End-use declaration to CBIC

Compliance steps

1
Confirm your entity qualifies under one of the enumerated exceptions before placing a purchase order: government entity, central or state government recognised educational institution, government recognised R&D entity importing for R&D, drone manufacturer importing for R&D, or defence and security importer. All other importers face an absolute Prohibition and cannot remedy non-compliance at the bill of entry stage.
DGFT Notification 54/2015-20 dated 09-02-2022 · ITC (HS) Chapter 88, Policy Condition No. 03
2
Obtain prior import authorisation from DGFT, issued in consultation with the concerned line ministry, before shipment. The authorisation must be in force at the time of filing the bill of entry; shipments arriving without a valid DGFT authorisation are subject to confiscation and penalty under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992.
DGFT Notification 54/2015-20 dated 09-02-2022 · ITC (HS) Chapter 88, Policy Condition No. 03
3
Note that import of drone components (as opposed to assembled or knocked-down drones) remains Free under Policy Condition No. 03. Classify the consignment correctly between assembled/CKD/SKD drone and components — misclassification as 'components' to bypass the Prohibited status constitutes a mis-declaration at the bill of entry.
DGFT Notification 54/2015-20 dated 09-02-2022 · ITC (HS) Chapter 88, Policy Condition No. 03

A word of counsel

The single most common error on this tariff line is conflating the general aircraft/helicopter import relaxations under Policy Condition 1 of Chapter 88 — applicable to DGCA-NOC holders, Air India, Pawan Hans, AAI, IGRUA and IFSC-based leasing entities — with the drone-specific Prohibition under Policy Condition No. 03. Those aircraft-import relaxations do not extend to unmanned aircraft; the drone Prohibition is a separate, later, and narrower carve-out that requires its own DGFT authorisation issued in consultation with line ministries, regardless of any DGCA NOC held by the importer.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 8806 10 00 require BIS certification?

No, unmanned aircraft designed for passenger carriage are not within the BIS Quality Control Order regime. Import is governed by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade under the ITC (HS) Prohibited-import policy, Chapter 88 Policy Condition No. 03, with DGFT authorisation as the operative gate.

Can an entity that holds a DGCA NOC for air transport operations import a passenger-carrying drone under the aircraft-import relaxation in Policy Condition 1 of Chapter 88?

No. The aircraft and helicopter relaxation under Policy Condition 1 and DGFT Notification 21/2015-20 dated 31-08-2021 applies to conventional aircraft and helicopters; drone imports in CBU, SKD or CKD form fall exclusively under the drone-specific Prohibition in Policy Condition No. 03, which requires separate DGFT authorisation obtained in consultation with the concerned line ministry.

Are drone components for a passenger-carrying unmanned aircraft also Prohibited?

No. Import of drone components is classified as Free under Policy Condition No. 03 per DGFT Notification 54/2015-20; the Prohibition applies only to import in CBU, SKD or CKD form, so component-level imports do not require DGFT authorisation.

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