The Supreme Court has granted interim relief to HP India Sales Pvt. Ltd. by staying recovery of a Rs 14.91 crore customs demand. The case arises from a dispute over the classification of imported “HP Latex printers.” The Court also issued notice in the company’s appeal against an order of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal.
The matter came up before a Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Prasanna B. Varale on April 16, 2026. The Bench recorded the following direction while considering the stay application:
“There shall be a stay of recovery pursuant to the impugned judgment and final order dated 04.11.2025 till the next date of hearing.”
The dispute traces back to imports made between October 2016 and March 2021. HP India imported printers valued at over Rs 149 crore. Customs authorities later reclassified these machines under a different tariff entry. This change triggered a demand of Rs 14.91 crore in duty. It also included interest, an equivalent penalty, and a redemption fine under the Customs Act.
HP India argued that the printers could connect to automatic data processing systems. On this basis, it claimed classification under a more favourable tariff entry applicable to inkjet printers. The company argued that such connectivity aligns the machines with standard printer functions.
However, the appellate tribunal did not accept this view. The tribunal held that the imported devices function as self-contained printing systems. It observed that they do not depend on external data processing units in a manner required for the claimed classification. On this reasoning, it upheld the reclassification and the resulting duty demand.
Challenging this finding, HP India approached the Supreme Court.
Source from: https://www.bwlegalworld.com/article/supreme-court-stays-rs-14-91-crore-customs-recovery-against-hp-india-603036
