Delhi High Court To Examine Scope Of Customs Jurisdiction Under E-Cigarettes Act After Seizure Of "De-Addiction" Devices

A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta have sought the authority's response on a private company's petition challenging seizure of its imported “empty atomizer devices” purportedly to be put to use for smoking de-addiction.

The devices were seized for alleged violation of the E-Cigarettes Act.

However, the Petitioner claims that the goods are licensed medical devices and exempted from the definition of E-cigarette under Section 3.

“The important question that the petition raises is whether the devices which are being imported by the Petitioner can be seized by the Customs Authorities or not,” the Court observed after hearing the Petitioner.

It has also framed the following issues and sought the Customs' response by April 30:

(i) Whether the Petitioner has to obtain a license from the DCGI under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 to be exempted under Section 3 of the Act?

(ii) Whether the empty devices without its contents are in itself exempted under the Act when the licenses are provided only for the final herbal product?

As per the Petitioner, the subject goods are empty atomizer devices imported for the purpose of being filled with a herbal product, following which they are sold as a medical product used for enabling smoking de-addiction.

It was further submitted that the product is licensed by the State Licensing Authority, Haryana under Medical Devices Rules, 2017 as class A category and thus, it cannot be considered as an electronic cigarette prohibited and liable to seizure upon import under the Act.

Petitioner also contended that the Customs Authorities do not have any jurisdiction to seize the subject goods under the Act because licensed goods are not prohibited under the Act. Moreover, it was orally argued that the Customs Department had no jurisdiction under the E-Cigarettes Act, as only an officer "authorized" under Section 3 thereof could take any action for violation of the Act.

“Let the counter affidavit clarifying all these issues and any other relevant aspects be filed within four weeks. Rejoinder, thereto, be filed within two weeks,” the Court has ordered.

Appearance: Mr. Vikas Pahwa, Sr Adv. withMs. Preeti Pahwa, Mr. Prabhav Ralli, Ms. Nancy Shamim, Mr. Dev Vrat Arya & Mr. Syed Asif Iqbal, Advs. for Petitioner; Mr. Aditya Singla, SSC for Respondent

Case title: Mea Ame Pvt. Ltd. v. Deputy Commissioner, Customs (Preventive), New Delhi

Case no.: W.P.(C) 3200/2025

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