Disclaimer: This has been reported after the availability of the order of the Court and not on media reports so as to give an accurate report to our readers.
Delhi High Court: In a review petition filed by the respondents, Customs Department under Order XLVII Rule 1 read with Sections 114 and 151 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) seeking review of this Court’s order dated 30-10-2025 directing the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to conduct an inter-ministerial consultation for a uniform policy regarding imports of products declared as body massagers or sex toys, a Division Bench of Prathiba M. Singh* and Shail Jain, JJ., opined that the “petitioners are being harassed unnecessarily” and imposed a Costs of Rs. 25,000/- in each petition, to be deducted from the salary of Assistant Commissioner of Customs.
In the instant matter, the petitioners imported wellness/body massager devices, commonly called sex toys, which were seized by the Customs Department. The petitioners had earlier obtained an order dated 30-11-2025 where this Court directed provisional release of the imported goods and also directed CBIC to initiate a uniform policy consultation regarding import categorization of body massagers/sex toys.
The Customs department contended that these goods require the approval of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and the petitioners failed to provide an EPR certificate under Battery Waste Management Rules.
However, the petitioners contended that these arguments were already raised earlier, hence not grounds for review, and DCGI FAQ No. 51 expressly provided that “if the massager is intended for soothing or general wellness purpose… then it does not come under the regulation.”
The petitioners asserted that similar products of companies such as Reckitt Benckiser (Durex) and Huha Care Pvt. Ltd. were cleared by Customs department without objection and that non-clearance was a violation of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India.
The Court noted that the Customs department failed to deny that these similar products were permitted to be imported, which clearly “answered that they were permitted to import.” The Court found that the Customs department had concealed material documents, specifically the DCGI FAQs and the Public Notice 46/2023, from the Court. The Court held that the same arguments had already been raised during the earlier hearing, therefore, “there is no ground for a review.”
The Court affirmed that as per DCGI FAQ No. 51, “massagers… do not require any approval under the Medical Device Rules… as they are only for wellness and soothing purposes.” The Court noted that Public Notice 46/2023 clearly states that the EPR certificate can be filed even after release, and one petitioner had already filed such an application.
The Court further noted that the Customs department had cleared similar products by Reckitt Benckiser and others, yet targeted petitioners even when petitioner has demonstrated that “similar goods are being imported… cleared for home consumption, without any objections.” The Court found that the Customs Department is clearly harassing the Petitioners for no reason.
“The Petitioners are being harassed unnecessarily, when clearly the earlier consignments of the Petitioners were cleared… and the consignments of various third parties were also cleared.”
The Court dismissed the review petitions with costs of Rs. 25,000/- per petition and directed to be deducted the same from the salary of Assistant Commissioner of Customs. The Court stated that the provisional release of the goods to be effected within two working days upon EPR application filing.
[TECHSYNC v. Superintendent of Customs, W.P.(C) 3542/2025, Decided on 21-11-2025]
*Judgment by Justice Prathiba M. Singh
Advocates who appeared in this case:
Ms. Piyushi Garg, Mr. Ananay Chopra, Mr. Ajay Kr Yadav, Mr. Chandravijay Sharma, Mr. Hardik Saxena and Mr. Rajat Yadav, Counsel for the Petitioner
Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, SSC with Ms. Drishti Rawal, Mr. Mayur Goyal and Mr. Sarthak Srivastava, Counsel for the Respondents
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