What is a high sea sale, and how does Customs treat it when the goods land in India?

A high sea sale is when the original buyer of imported goods sells them to someone else while they are still in transit, by transferring the shipping documents. The new buyer then clears the goods in India in its own name.

The Foreign Trade Policy 2023 allows it: sale of goods on high seas for import into India may be made subject to the FTP or any other law in force^[1]. The final buyer is the importer of record and needs its own Importer-Exporter Code. Our IEC guide explains how to get one.

In the Foreign Trade Policy, and it has been there for decades. JNCH records that high seas sale was permitted under para 2.24 of FTP 2004-2009 and para 2.38 of FTP 2015-2020^[2]; FTP 2023 keeps it at para 2.38^[1].

The customs procedure is set by each custom house. At Nhava Sheva (JNCH), a 2005 standing order made prior registration of high seas sale agreements mandatory, a 2016 facility notice listed the documents, and Public Notice 58/2017 of 2 May 2017 replaced registration with checks during assessment^[8].

The phrase "subject to any other law" matters. A high sea sale does not get around BIS, WPC, EPR, FSSAI or any other import rule.

Mostly to change who imports without re-shipping the goods. Common reasons:

• A trading house sells to an end user. A bulk buyer places the order abroad and sells part of it to smaller buyers before arrival.
• The licence sits with someone else. The buyer who holds a product approval or licence clears the goods. For example, only a licensed importer may bring in gas cylinders^[9], and food needs an FSSAI import licence^[7].
• A deal falls through mid-voyage. The original buyer finds a new customer before the ship arrives.

Distributors use it often; see compliance for distributors.

At least three parties: the overseas supplier, the original buyer (the high-sea seller) and the new buyer (the high-sea buyer). Customs asks for the IECs of both the high-sea seller and buyer^[3], so both must be registered traders.

The high-sea buyer usually appoints a customs broker, and JNCH asks for an authority letter from the buyer to the broker^[3]. If no broker is appointed, the buyer files an application addressed to the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner of the group or docks^[2]. If there have been several sales in a chain, the broker must give details and documents of every one^[3].

The contract comes first and must be dated before the ship's arrival is reported; everything else follows at clearance. The sequence below follows JNCH's procedure.

JNCH's list is the best published guide for any port.

The officer checks that the Bill of Entry details match the paperwork. Under JNCH's notice this includes the calculation of the high seas sale commission, the notarised agreement, the confirmation letter, the invoice, the date of the high seas sale and the endorsement on the Bill of Lading^[2].

These checks happen during verification of self-assessment, or before out of charge where the Bill of Entry was facilitated by the risk system^[2]. For electronics, Customs may also check BIS registration and draw samples, according to a reported 2023 CBIC instruction^[10]. See why shipments get held at Indian ports.

IGST is reportedly paid once, at import, on a value that includes each sale's mark-up. We have not read either key source on an official CBIC page, so treat both points as reported.

• IGST once, at import. CBIC Circular 33/2017-Customs of 1 August 2017 reportedly says IGST on high sea sales, whether one or many, is collected only once, when the import declaration is filed, with the value added in each sale included in the value^[11].
• Not a GST supply. Paragraph 8(b) of Schedule III of the CGST Act, added in 2018, reportedly treats a sale by the consignee by endorsing documents of title before clearance as neither a supply of goods nor services^[12]. Advance rulings have differed on how strictly the endorsement condition applies.

Confirm the tax treatment with your accountant before you price a high sea sale.

A Mumbai trading company, Firm A, orders 2,000 Bluetooth speakers from Shenzhen at an invoice value of Rs 20 lakh. While the ship is at sea, it sells 2,000 units to a Delhi retailer, Firm B, for Rs 22 lakh. The Rs 2 lakh difference is the high sea sale commission.

1. Firm A and Firm B sign and notarise the contract before the IGM is filed^[3].
2. Firm B's broker files the Bill of Entry naming Firm B as buyer, Firm A as seller and the Rs 2 lakh commission^[3].
3. On the reported CBIC position, IGST is paid once by Firm B at import, on a value that includes the Rs 2 lakh mark-up^[11].
4. Firm B, as importer, needs the product approvals. Bluetooth speakers need a WPC ETA in our reading^[13], and Firm B as the seller of imported EEE may carry EPR^[14].

The figures are illustrative; the rules are not.

Yes. The buyer becomes the importer, so every import rule applies to it. Notified goods that do not meet the Indian Standard and carry the Standard Mark cannot be imported, whoever buys them on the high seas^[15].

Check these before you sign:

• BIS. The product's BIS CRS registration or ISI licence must cover the exact model.
• WPC. Wireless goods need a WPC ETA; the ETA holder is often the brand or original importer, so confirm it can be relied on.
• LMPC. Anyone who imports pre-packed goods for sale needs LMPC registration^[16].
• EPR. Selling imported EEE makes you a producer under the e-waste rules^[14]; see e-waste EPR.
• Food. FSSAI lists the HSS agreement as a mandatory document so the original exporter can be traced^[7]; see FSSAI import.

Our approval checker lists what a product needs.

Two dates matter: the IGM date for the contract and the vessel arrival date for the Bill of Entry.

A high sea sale agreed late in the voyage leaves little time. Containers waiting for paperwork pick up demurrage.

Reliefs written by shipment date follow the Bill of Lading, not the buyer. For example, DPIIT's S.O. 775(E) of 12 February 2026 exempts imports shipped before a QCO's implementation date, per the Bill of Lading, if the Bill of Entry is filed within 180 days, with documents sent to BIS within seven days of clearance^[17].

In a high sea sale, the new buyer files the Bill of Entry, so it is the one that must send the documents to BIS. Check the QCO tracker for the order that applies.

• Contract dated too late. JNCH requires notarisation or bank attestation no later than the IGM date^[3].
• Missing or wrong commission. The Bill of Entry must show the commission^[3], and the officer checks its calculation^[2].
• Broken chain. Every sale in the chain must be documented^[3].
• No B/L endorsement. The officer checks the endorsement on the Bill of Lading^[2].
• Buyer without approvals. The high-sea buyer needs the product approvals too, such as an FSSAI licence for food^[7] or a PESO licence for cylinders^[9].
• Buyer without an IEC or ICEGATE login. Customs asks for both IECs^[3], and ICEGATE registration needs a valid IEC^[18].
• Blaming the broker. JNCH has held an importer liable for invalid licences filed through its broker^[19].

For a full document list see the customs clearance checklist, or ask for a free compliance check.