Supreme Court Allows Customs Duty Exemption To LG Electronics For Smart Watch Import From Korea

The Supreme Court recently granted relief to LG Electronics India from paying customs duty on imported 'G Watch W7' smartwatches from South Korea, holding that a certificate of origin from a country with which India has a full customs duty exemption agreement is sufficient to claim such exemption.

A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Sandeep Mehta heard the LG Electronics appeal against the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (“CESTAT”) order, that declined LG's plea for seeking exemption from custom duty payment for imported watches reasoning that imported watches falls under CTH 8517 good's, which attracted a higher duty, and raised a demand along with penalties.

LG argued that even if classified under CTH 8517, the imports were entitled to complete duty exemption under Notification No. 151/2009, applicable to goods of South Korean origin under the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The Tribunal rejected this plea on the ground that the necessary Certificate of Origin had not been submitted at the assessment stage, leading to the present appeal before the Supreme Court.

Setting aside the CESTAT's order, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal, noting that since LG had obtained a valid Certificate of Origin from the Korean authority establishing that the goods were produced in South Korea, by virtue of Notification No. 151/2009, LG was entitled to a complete duty exemption.

“having looked into the Original Certificate of Origin which is not disputed otherwise, we are convinced that the appellant is entitled to the benefit of the Notification 151/2009.”, the court said.

Accordingly, the appeal was allowed.

Cause Title: M/S L.G. ELECTRONICS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED VERSUS COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS

Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 916

Click here to read/download the order

Appearance:

For Appellant(s): Mr. V. Lakshminarayan, Sr.Adv. Ms. Neha Choudhary, Adv. Mr. Umag Motiyani, Adv. Ms. Nitum Jain, Adv. Mr. Ayush Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Medha Sinha, Adv. Mr. Swastik Mishra, Adv. Ms. Charanya Lakshmikumaran, AOR

For Respondent(s) : Mr. V.C. Bharathi, Adv. Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR Mr. Udai Khanna, Adv. Ms. Gayatri Mishra, Adv. Ms. Bharti Tyagi, Adv.