Customs Duty Exemption from whole of the duty of customs on import of Works of art and antiquity by museum or an art gallery intended for public exhibition in a museum or art gallery read with recent Notification No. 29/2025-Customs dated 09-05-2025
This notification from the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, issued on 9th May 2025, details an exemption from customs duty on certain imported goods. Under the powers granted by the Customs Act, 1962, the Central Government exempts works of art, statuary, pictures intended for public exhibition in museums or art galleries, public memorials, and registered antiquities imported into India from the whole of the basic customs duty. This exemption is subject to specific conditions outlined in the Annexure. For works of art and museum/gallery antiquities, the importing institution must be the purchaser or owner, provide an undertaking that the items are for public exhibition and will not be sold or traded, and furnish a certificate from an Authorized Officer confirming the institution is a publicly accessible museum or art gallery in a suitable building. Additionally, imported antiquities defined under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 must be registered with the Archaeological Survey of India within 90 days of import.
Statutory Notifications
1. Notification No. 32/2017–Customs dated 30-06-2017
2. Notification No. 29/2025-Customs dated 09-05-2025
3.Notification No 26/2011-Customs, dated 01.03.2011 as amended vide various notifications.
4.Notification No. 43/2017-Customs dated: 30th June, 2017 (Provided exemption from the whole of the Basic Customs Duty and from the whole of the additional duty, valid till 30th September, 2024)
| Import of; | Purpose of Import | Condition for exemption from whole of the duty of customs leviable thereon specified in the first Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 |
| Works of art
(including statuary and pictures) |
for public exhibition in a museum or art gallery | 1. museum or an art gallery is itself ‘the importer’ that is being the purchaser or owner of such works of art
2. Importer (museum or an art gallery) submits an undertaking to the Deputy Commissioner of Customs that the goods imported (that is Works of art including statuary and pictures) (a) shall be used for public exhibition and (b) shall not be sold or traded after importation in case of failure to comply with this condition, he shall be liable to pay, in respect of such quantity of the said goods as is proved to be not being so used for the specified purposes, an amount equal to the duty leviable on such quantity. 3. importer produces a certificate issued by “Authorized Officer” of the Ministry of Culture certifying that (a) the importer runs a museum or an art gallery which allows unrestricted access to public (b) museum or gallery is clearly meant for the operation of a museum or art gallery. |
| Antiques and all items under the definition of “antiquity” under ‘The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972.
Definition of “antiquity” “antiquity” includes— (i) any coin, sculpture, painting, epigraph or other work of art or craftsmanship; (ii) any article, object or thing detached from a building or cave; (iii) any article, object or thing illustrative of science, art, crafts, literature, religion, customs, morals or politics in bygone ages; (iv) any article, object or thing of historical interest; (v) any article, object or thing declared by the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, to be an antiquity for the purposes of this Act, and (II) any manuscript, record or other document which is of scientific, historical, literary or aesthetic value and which has been in existence for not less than seventy-five years; |
For public exhibition in any museum or art gallery | 1.museum or an art gallery is itself ‘the importer’ that is being the purchaser or owner of such antiquity
2. Importer (museum or an art gallery) submits an undertaking to the Deputy Commissioner of Customs that the goods imported (that is antiquity) (c) shall be used for public exhibition and (d) shall not be sold or traded after importation in case of failure to comply with this condition, he shall be liable to pay, in respect of such quantity of the said goods as is proved to be not being so used for the specified purposes, an amount equal to the duty leviable on such quantity. 3. importer produces a certificate issued by “Authorized Officer” of the Ministry of Culture certifying that (c) the importer runs a museum or an art gallery which allows unrestricted access to public (d) museum or gallery is clearly meant for the operation of a museum or art gallery. 4. Antiquities are registered with the Archaeological Survey of India within 90 days from the date of importation. |
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(Department of Revenue)
Notification No. 29/2025-Customs | Dated: 9th May, 2025
G.S.R. 302(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Central Government, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempts goods of the description specified in column (2) of the TABLE below and falling within the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) (hereinafter referred to as the said Act), when imported into India, from the whole of the duty of customs leviable thereon specified in the said Schedule, subject to the relevant conditions specified in the Annexure to this notification, the Condition number of which is referred to in the corresponding entry in column (3) of the said TABLE.
TABLE
| S. No. | Description of goods | Condition No. |
| (1) | (2) | (3) |
| 1. | Works of art including statuary and pictures intended for public exhibition in a museum or art gallery | 1 |
| 2. | Works of art namely memorials of a public character intended to be put up in a public place including, materials used or to be used in their construction, whether worked or not | 1 |
| 3. | Antiques and all items under the definition of “antiquity” under ‘The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972” that is intended for public exhibition in any museum or art gallery | 1 and 2 |
ANNEXURE
| Condition No. | Condition |
| 1. | If,-
i. the establishment operating such a museum or an art gallery is itself the importer being the purchaser or owner of such works of art or antiques; ii. the importer submits an undertaking before the Assistant Commissioner of customs or the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, that the goods so imported shall be used for public exhibition and shall not be sold or traded after importation and that in case of failure to comply with this condition, he shall be liable to pay, in respect of such quantity of the said goods as is proved to be not being so used for the specified purposes, an amount equal to the duty leviable on such quantity but for the exemption under this notification; and iii. the importer produces a certificate issued by “Authorized Officer” as per the Ministry of Culture’s Gazette Notification dated 28.05.2015 certifying that- a. the importer runs a museum or an art gallery which allows unrestricted access to public; and b. the building housing such a museum or gallery is clearly meant for the operation of a museum or art gallery. |
| 2. | Such antiquities are registered with the Archaeological Survey of India within 90 days from the date of importation. |
[F. No. 190354/72/2024-TRU]
DHEERAJ SHARMA, Under Secy.
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