Import:

[Section 2(23)] with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means bringing into India from a place outside India.

The definition of imports is not restricted only to commercial imports. It only means bringing of goods from any place outside India into India.

The meaning of import has been one of the most contentious issues in Customs. There are two school of thoughts. One school of thought is that import gets completed when the vessel carrying goods crosses the territorial waters of India. The other school of thought is that the import is complete only when the goods mingle with the landmass of India. Now the settled law is in favour of second school of thought. It has been held in Garden Silk Mills .v. UOI 1999 (113) ELT 358 (SC) that import of goods into India commences when the goods enter the territorial waters of India, but continue and complete only when the goods become part of mass of goods within the country. The taxable event occurs only when the goods reaches the customs barrier and the bill of entry for home consumption is filed.