Sections 11H explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Chapter IVB mirrors Chapter IVA, but for exports. It lets the Central Government specify goods that are likely to be illegally exported from a vulnerable area and places duties on anyone holding or acquiring those goods in that area. Section 11H defines the terms, section 11I gives the power to specify goods, and section 11J requires an intimation of the place of storage where the goods are valuable enough.
This article follows the text on the CBIC portal updated to 30 March 2022 (the Act as amended up to the Finance Act, 2022). Please check any later Finance Act changes to these sections before acting.
The Central Government may specify goods by notification when the illegal export of goods of a class or description is of such magnitude that special measures are expedient in the public interest. A person who owns, possesses or controls specified goods in the specified area whose market price exceeds fifteen thousand rupees must, within seven days of the specified date, tell the proper officer where the goods are kept. After seven days the goods may be kept only at the intimated place.
Section 11H: the definitions
Section 11H has five definitions for Chapter IVB.
| Term | Meaning in the text |
|---|---|
| Illegal export | The export of any goods in contravention of the provisions of this Act or any other law for the time being in force |
| Intimated place | A place intimated under sub-section (1), (2) or (3), as the case may be, of section 11J |
| Specified area | Includes the Indian customs waters, and such inland area, not exceeding one hundred kilometers in width from any coast or other border of India, as the Central Government may specify by notification, having regard to the vulnerability of that area to smuggling |
| Specified date | In relation to specified goods, the date on which a notification is issued in relation to those goods in any specified area |
| Specified goods | Goods of any description specified in the notification issued in relation to a specified area |
The specified-area definition has a proviso: where a part of any village, town or city falls within a specified area, the whole of that village, town or city is deemed to be included in the specified area, even though the whole of it is not within one hundred kilometers of the coast or other border. So a business located in a town that straddles the line is inside the area. Our article on sections 1 and 2 explains "Indian customs waters", which the specified area always includes.
If your premises are in a coastal or border district and you hold goods that could be specified, a short legal consultation can tell you what the notification means for your stock before the seven days run out.
Section 11H uses the heading "Definitions", and the head of section 11I is printed in the copy as "Section 11-I" with a hyphen. That is how the copy prints it, and the section is the same one cited as 11I.
Section 11I: the power to specify goods
Section 11I says that, having regard to the magnitude of the illegal export of goods of any class or description, if the Central Government is satisfied that it is expedient in the public interest to take special measures for the purpose of checking the illegal export or facilitating the detection of goods which are likely to be illegally exported, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify goods of such class or description.
The pattern is the same as in section 11B: magnitude of illegal activity, satisfaction that measures are expedient in the public interest, and a notification. The difference is in the area. Section 11H ties specified goods to a specified area, so the notification is made "in relation to a specified area". The text lists no goods; the notification does.
Section 11J: intimation of the place of storage
Sub-section (1): holders on the specified date. Every person who owns, possesses or controls, on the specified date, any specified goods whose market price exceeds fifteen thousand rupees shall, within seven days from that date, deliver to the proper officer an intimation containing the particulars of the place where the goods are kept or stored within the specified area. Note that the duty is an intimation of the place, not the fuller statement that section 11C requires for notified goods. Market price is the wholesale price in the ordinary course of trade in India, as clause (30) of section 2 defines it.
Sub-section (2): acquirers within the specified area. Every person who acquires, within the specified area, after the specified date, any specified goods, (i) the market price of which, or (ii) the market price of which together with the market price of any specified goods of the same class or description owned, possessed or controlled by him on the date of acquisition, exceeds fifteen thousand rupees, shall, before making the acquisition, deliver to the proper officer an intimation containing the particulars of the place where the goods are proposed to be kept or stored after the acquisition.
The second limb catches a person who buys in small lots: the market prices of goods of the same class already held are added to the new purchase. A buyer cannot escape by splitting purchases below the figure, because the test counts what he already owns, possesses or controls.
The proviso says a person who has delivered an intimation under (1) or (2) is not required to deliver any further intimation so long as the specified goods are kept or stored at the intimated place.
Sub-section (3): shifting. If any person intends to shift any specified goods to which (1) or (2) applies to a place other than the intimated place, he must, before taking the goods out of the intimated place, deliver to the proper officer an intimation of the place to which they are to be shifted.
Sub-section (4): the seven-day bar. No person shall, after the expiry of seven days from the specified date, keep or store any specified goods to which (1) or (2) applies at any place other than the intimated place.
How Chapters IVA and IVB compare
| Point | Notified goods (11A-11C) | Specified goods (11H-11J) |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | Check illegal import | Check illegal export |
| Trigger | Notification of goods | Notification of goods in a specified area |
| Where | No area limit in these sections | Specified area (up to one hundred kilometers inland, plus Indian customs waters) |
| Value limit | None stated in 11C | Market price exceeding fifteen thousand rupees |
| What to deliver | Statement of goods and place | Intimation of the place of storage |
| Time | Within seven days | Within seven days |
For the other side of the pair, see our article on sections 11A to 11C.
A worked example with invented names
A notification specifies a class of goods for a coastal specified area, and the specified date is the 10th of a month. Sunrise Traders Pvt. Ltd., located in a town only partly within the hundred-kilometre belt, holds stock worth well above fifteen thousand rupees in a godown. Because part of the town is inside the specified area, the whole town counts, and the company must deliver an intimation of the godown's location to the proper officer within seven days. If the stock is later shifted to a godown elsewhere in the area, an intimation of the new place must go in before the goods leave the old one. Smaller traders whose holdings of that class are below the figure, taken together with any further purchase, are outside sub-section (1).
Need help with obligations in a specified area?
If a notification for specified goods covers your district, the seven-day window is short. A legal consultation can help you check your stock value, your location against the specified area, and what to give the proper officer.
Key takeaways
- The Central Government may specify goods by notification when the magnitude of illegal export justifies special measures.
- The specified area includes the Indian customs waters and an inland area of not more than one hundred kilometers in width, as notified; a partly-covered village, town or city is wholly included.
- Holders of specified goods with a market price above fifteen thousand rupees must intimate the storage place within seven days of the specified date.
- Acquirers in the area must intimate the place before acquiring, counting same-class goods already held.
- After seven days, the goods may be kept only at the intimated place.
Read next
- Sections 11K–11N: transport vouchers, accounts and sale of specified goods
- Sections 11A–11C: notified goods and intimation of place of storage
- Sections 1–2: short title, extent and territorial definitions
- Introduction to Customs Act 1962
Disclaimer: Based on the Customs Act, 1962 as published on the CBIC Tax Information Portal, updated to 30 March 2022 (amended up to the Finance Act, 2022), as consulted on 2 October 2026. Finance Acts of 2023 and later, and the current rules, regulations and notifications, should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.