India's $1.2 Billion Customs Case Against Volkswagen Returns to Bombay High Court; Carmaker Argues 12-Year Lookback Exceeds Legal Limit
Mumbai — India's $1.2 billion customs case against Germany's Volkswagen returned to the Bombay High Court on October 29, with the two sides clashing over import classification and the permissible lookback period. According to Reuters, the demand of about 1.1526 trillion rupees (roughly $1.2 billion) is the largest import-duty claim of its kind in India.
Indian customs authorities allege that in some 33,000 import transactions between 2012 and 2024, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India declared what were effectively near-complete vehicle kits as individual parts, paying duties of 5 to 15 percent, when as completely knocked down (CKD) kits they should have been taxed at 30 to 35 percent. Customs issued a show-cause notice in September 2024 seeking the shortfall plus interest. Volkswagen denies the allegation; its counsel Arvind Datar argued in court that Indian law permits review of only the previous five years of imports and that the authorities' 12-year lookback exceeds their powers. Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman defended the demand for the government.
The case has had a winding procedural path: a Bombay High Court bench heard it for six days and reserved judgment in February 2025, but in August 2026 the bench released the matter without a verdict after failing to rule within the prescribed time, requiring a fresh hearing. The October 29 session opened that rehearing, with the next hearing set for the following week.
Volkswagen holds only about 2 percent of India's passenger-car market and is in talks with India's JSW Group on selling a stake in its local operations and expanding electric-vehicle production; Reuters notes the tax dispute hangs over those talks, and Bloomberg has reported that Volkswagen has paused a planned India EV investment project prepared over more than half a year. A Reuters tally in 2025 put the total tax disputes faced by automakers in India — including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen — at about $6 billion.
(Source: Reuters)
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：大众汽车印度公司位于浦那的工厂（资料图）。CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Volkswagen India plant in Pune (file photo). CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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