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Bengaluru Engineer Who Distributed Free Oxygen Concentrators During Covid Receives Rs 35.3 Lakh Customs Notice

A Bengaluru engineer who imported and distributed oxygen concentrators for free during India’s devastating second Covid wave now faces a customs demand that appears to rest on reclassifying the life-saving donations as personal imports.

कोविड के दौरान निशुल्क 700 ऑक्सीजन कंसंट्रेटर बांटने वाले व्यक्ति को 35 लाख रुपये का आयात बिल भेजा गया

The Wire · By द वायर स्टाफ · 20 June 2026 · read the original in Hindi →

Bengaluru: Vinay Kumar, a Bengaluru-based aerospace engineer who during the second wave of Covid-19 in May 2021 imported 700 oxygen concentrators free of cost from Germany and distributed them without charge to people in need, has been sent a notice for Rs 35.3 lakh by Mumbai Customs.

According to the report, the Customs Department has imposed this charge, along with GST, citing “wrong classification,” even though the government had waived customs duty on these devices at the time. In the matter, the Mumbai Customs office sent Kumar a notice in March this year, asking him to pay Rs 35.3 lakh.

“I cried out for help”‘मदद के लिए गुहार लगाई’

Speaking to The Wire about the matter, Kumar said, “The situation at the time was very bad. We were not even sure whether we would still be alive the next day.”

It bears recalling that the second wave of Covid exposed the grave deficiencies in India’s healthcare system. At a time when hundreds of thousands of families were struggling to find hospital beds, medicines, oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators and even wood for cremations, civil society and volunteers played a crucial role in securing essential help.

Kumar went on to say, “In my desperation, I cried out for help on social media. I asked my friends in Germany to help with oxygen concentrators. We ran an international fundraising campaign, and people from around the world contributed. People donated to the German NGO Technik ohne Grenzen, and they sent us the concentrators free of cost, for free distribution and use.”

He added that he and his friends together distributed the concentrators in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and even in Uttar Pradesh and other states.

Kumar said he worked with a group of friends who run a local NGO, and partnered with shipping companies such as DHL, United and Big Logistics.

According to Kumar, two consignments of oxygen concentrators came from Germany at the time: one to Mumbai and the other to Bengaluru. It is now the office of the Commissioner of Mumbai Customs (Audit) that has sent him this letter.

What does the letter say?

Customs officials have written that in May 2021, the oxygen concentrators were cleared from Mumbai’s Air Cargo Complex using the default import-export code meant for “personal imports.”

The letter, dated March 5, 2026, says the goods were classified under tariff heading 90192090 and cleared with zero basic customs duty, social welfare surcharge and integrated GST (IGST), whereas “all dutiable goods imported for personal use should be classified under CTH 9804.”

The letter states, “Thus, due to the incorrect classification of the goods concerned, duty amounting to Rs 35,38,945 was short-levied.”

The Customs Department arrived at this figure by applying 35% customs duty, a 10% social welfare surcharge and 28% IGST to goods imported for personal use.

It is worth noting that when these oxygen concentrators were imported from Germany, the Union government had waived customs duty and the health cess on oxygen and related equipment.

In fact, at the peak of the second Covid wave, when demand for these devices was extremely high, the government issued an order on April 30, 2021 exempting oxygen concentrators imported for personal use from customs duty until July 31, 2021.

In a report titled “India: Civil Society Participation and Effectiveness of Coalition in the Pandemic Response,” the World Health Organization (WHO) had noted that during the pandemic, civil society organizations and their networks provided a wide range of services. These included contact tracing, assistance with Covid-19 testing, spreading awareness, supplying essential goods, supporting vaccination, addressing vaccine hesitancy, improving health facilities and helping maintain essential health services.

Even so, the department has said in the letter that within 15 days of receiving the notice, Kumar should either “voluntarily comply” by paying the amount along with applicable interest, or provide an explanation, with documentary evidence, as to why the amount should not be demanded.

It says, “If you do not respond within 15 days of receiving this letter, it will be presumed that you have nothing to say in your defence and further action will be initiated under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.” Uncertainty persists.

Kumar said, “We sent our reply within the stipulated time. The good thing is that I had kept records of everything. But I am worried because I have received no information from the department in this regard. The matter is still open.”

When Kumar received no response from the Customs Department, he wrote a post about his predicament on the social media platform X.

A tax lawyer offered to help and, after looking at the consultative letter, told him that the outcome was not certain and that the matter was still open.

The News Minute also contacted Kumar to seek his version of events and published a report on the matter.

Another similar case came to Kumar’s attention on the social media platform Reddit, which left him even more worried. He saw a thread on Reddit in which a person had described an almost identical incident.

A user named u/ayushm4489 had imported oxygen concentrators for free distribution during the second Covid wave. Now, five years later, the Customs Department has placed his order in the “personal user” category and asked him to pay Rs 14 lakh.

He said, “I do not know whether the Customs Department has sent letters to many such people, because that five-year time limit after which they cannot recover any duty is about to expire. I am not certain about this. But I hope the matter will be resolved. We were only trying to help.”

The Wire has emailed the assistant commissioner in the office of the Commissioner of Mumbai Customs (Audit), seeking information regarding Kumar’s case. This report will be updated when a response is received.