The Delhi High Court on Friday sought a response from the Customs department on a plea filed by InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of IndiGo airline, seeking a refund of more than Rs 900 crore paid as Customs duty on aircraft engines and parts re-imported into India after overseas repairs.

A bench comprising Justices V Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar issued notice to the deputy commissioner (refund) in the office of the principal commissioner of Customs, Air Cargo Complex (Import), and directed the authorities to file a counter affidavit within two weeks. The matter has been listed for the next hearing on April 8, 2026.

In its plea, InterGlobe contended that the levy of Customs duty on such re-imports was unconstitutional and amounted to a double levy on the same transaction.

Opposing the plea, counsel for the Customs department argued that it was premature, noting that the issue on which the present claim is based is pending before the Supreme Court.

The counsel submitted that the apex court has not passed any stay order and sought time to file a reply.

InterGlobe’s counsel submitted that at the time of re-import of aircraft engines and parts after repairs, the company paid the basic Customs duty without any dispute.

It was further argued that since the repair constituted a service, the airline also discharged Goods and Services Tax (GST) on a reverse charge basis.

However, the Customs authorities insisted on levying duty again by treating the same transaction as an import of goods, the counsel claimed.

The company asserted that the issue had earlier been settled by the Customs tribunal, which held that Customs duty could not be levied again on re-imports following repairs.

It added that while the exemption notification was later amended, the tribunal ruled that the amendment would apply only prospectively.

InterGlobe said it paid the duty under protest for more than 4,000 bills of entry, amounting to over Rs 900 crore. When the airline later filed refund claims, the Customs authorities refused them on the ground that it must first seek reassessment of each bill of entry.