Section 138C 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.
Section 138C says that a microfilm of a document, a facsimile copy of a document, and a statement contained in a computer printout are to be treated as documents for the purposes of the Act and the rules, and are admissible in proceedings under them without further proof or production of the original, if the section's conditions are met. For computer printouts the section sets four conditions and provides for a certificate.
This article reads the section as per the text on the CBIC portal updated to 30 March 2022 (the Act as amended up to the Finance Act, 2022). Please check later Finance Act changes to section 138C before acting.
Under section 138C(1), a microfilm, a facsimile copy or a computer printout is deemed to be a document and is admissible without further proof or production of the original, as evidence of the contents of the original or of any fact stated in it of which direct evidence would be admissible. For a computer printout, the four conditions in sub-section (2) must be met. Sub-section (4) allows a certificate signed by a person in a responsible official position to serve as evidence of the matters it states.
What the section is about
Customs files today include scanned papers, electronic records and system-generated reports. Section 138C is the provision in the Act that lets such material be used as a document in proceedings under the Act and the rules made under it. It is placed in Chapter XVI, after the sections on trial and statements; our article on sections 138 to 138B covers those.
The footnote shows that the section was inserted with effect from 1 July 1988 by section 6 of the Customs and Central Excises Laws (Amendment) Act, 1988 (29 of 1988).
If your business is handling a notice or a prosecution in which electronic records will be relied on, our legal dispute resolution team can help you review how those records were produced.
Sub-section (1): what becomes a document
Section 138C(1) starts "Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force". It then lists three things:
| Item | Description in the text |
|---|---|
| (a) | A microfilm of a document, or the reproduction of the image or images embodied in such microfilm (whether enlarged or not) |
| (b) | A facsimile copy of a document |
| (c) | A statement contained in a document and included in printed material produced by a computer (called a "computer printout"), if the conditions in sub-section (2) and the other provisions of the section are satisfied in relation to the statement and the computer in question |
Each of them "shall be deemed to be also a document for the purposes of this Act and the rules made thereunder". It "shall be admissible in any proceedings thereunder, without further proof or production of the original, as evidence of any contents of the original or of any fact stated therein of which direct evidence would be admissible".
Points to note:
- The conditions of sub-section (2) are tied expressly to item (c), the computer printout. The text as printed does not attach those four conditions to microfilms or facsimile copies.
- The words "as evidence of any contents of the original or of any fact stated therein of which direct evidence would be admissible" limit the use. The printout stands in for the original only for facts which could be proved by direct evidence.
- The proceedings are those "under this Act" and "the rules made thereunder".
Sub-section (2): four conditions for a computer printout
The conditions are:
- (a) The printout containing the statement was produced by the computer during the period over which the computer was used regularly to store or process information for the purposes of any activities regularly carried on over that period by the person having lawful control over the use of the computer.
- (b) During that period, information of the kind contained in the statement, or of the kind from which that information is derived, was regularly supplied to the computer in the ordinary course of those activities.
- (c) Throughout the material part of that period, the computer was operating properly or, if not, any respect in which it was not operating properly or was out of operation during that part of the period was not such as to affect the production of the document or the accuracy of its contents.
- (d) The information contained in the statement reproduces or is derived from information supplied to the computer in the ordinary course of those activities.
An example. Harbour Logistics keeps its container tracking and delivery records on its own system, used every working day for that purpose. A printout from that system showing the date a container left the terminal can be offered as a document if the four conditions are met: produced in the regular-use period, regularly fed with that kind of information, the system working properly (or any lapse not affecting accuracy), and the entry derived from ordinary-course inputs. A one-off report compiled from data typed in for the first time in the week before the hearing would struggle to meet (b) and (d). The text does not go beyond this; whether a particular printout qualifies is a question for the forum.
Sub-section (3): several computers treated as one
Where over any period the function of storing or processing information was regularly performed by computers, whether by a combination of computers operating over that period, different computers operating in succession, different combinations operating in succession, or any other manner involving the successive operation of one or more computers and one or more combinations of computers, all the computers used for that purpose during that period are treated, for this section, as constituting a single computer. References to a computer are read accordingly. This is helpful for groups that moved data between systems or replaced hardware.
Sub-section (4): the certificate
Where it is desired to give a statement in evidence by virtue of this section, a certificate may do any of the following:
- (a) identify the document containing the statement and describe the manner in which it was produced;
- (b) give such particulars of any device involved in the production of the document as may be appropriate to show that it was produced by a computer;
- (c) deal with any of the matters to which the sub-section (2) conditions relate.
The certificate must purport to be signed by a person occupying a responsible official position in relation to the operation of the relevant device or the management of the relevant activities, whichever is appropriate. It then "shall be evidence of any matter stated in the certificate". For this purpose it is enough for a matter to be stated to the knowledge and belief of the person stating it.
Consider who in your business would be the right signatory: someone whose position relates to the operation of the device or the management of the activities concerned.
Sub-section (5) and the Explanation: what counts as supplied and produced
For the section:
- (a) information is taken to be supplied to a computer if it is supplied in any appropriate form, whether directly or (with or without human intervention) by means of any appropriate equipment;
- (b) where, in the course of activities carried on by an official, information is supplied with a view to being stored or processed for those activities by a computer operated otherwise than in the course of those activities, that information, if duly supplied to that computer, is taken to be supplied to it in the course of those activities;
- (c) a document is taken to have been produced by a computer whether it was produced directly or (with or without human intervention) by means of any appropriate equipment.
The Explanation defines "computer" as any device that receives, stores and processes data, applying stipulated processes to the information and supplying results of those processes, and says that a reference to information being derived from other information is a reference to its being derived by calculation, comparison or any other process.
Practical points for importers, exporters and brokers
- Keep records in the ordinary course. Conditions (a), (b) and (d) look to regular use and ordinary-course inputs.
- Know which system produced a document and who controls it.
- Keep a note of system faults. Condition (c) deals with periods when the computer was not operating properly.
- Do not assume a printout will be accepted without the certificate. The text provides the certificate as the route to evidence of the matters it states.
- For the kinds of documents customs relies on, see our guides on bill of entry documentation and shipping bill documentation. For how documents are treated once seized or produced, see our article on section 139.
Need help with electronic records in a customs matter?
If your case depends on system records, or the department relies on printouts against you, a careful review of how they were produced can matter. Our team can help through legal dispute resolution.
Key takeaways
- Microfilms, facsimile copies and computer printouts are deemed documents for the Act and the rules and admissible without further proof or production of the original, as the section provides.
- A computer printout must meet four conditions on regular use, regular supply of information, proper operation and ordinary-course derivation.
- Several computers working in succession or combination are treated as one.
- A certificate signed by a person in a responsible official position can be evidence of the matters it states.
- Matters in the certificate may be stated to the knowledge and belief of the person stating it.
Read next
- Sections 138 to 138B: summary trial, culpable mental state and statements as evidence
- Section 139: presumption as to documents
- Bill of entry: import documentation
- Section 137: cognizance and compounding of offences
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.