Bengaluru: What was planned as a noble act to save innocent lives has ended up costing a city-based activist Rs 35 lakh in customs duty.It was on March 5, 2026 that activist Vinay Kumar received a shocking notice from the customs seeking Rs 35 lakh in import duty. The cost was slapped on him almost five years after his life-saving intervention by procuring 700 oxygen concentrators during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.Vinay, a resident of Rajajinagar, was working in the healthcare sector as a consultant in 2021 when he noticed a critical oxygen crisis in the city. Through a city-based NGO, he received donations from expatriates and crowdfunding, and the consignments subsequently arrived in Bengaluru from Germany and the US.Once the concentrators reached the city via air, they were cleared by Bengaluru customs and made ready for distribution. With the help of several organisations, Vinay floated a helpline number through which the devices were distributed free of cost to those in need.However, according to the customs notice, during the course of post-clearance audit, it was flagged that as per the first schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, all dutiable goods imported for personal use were required to be classified under the Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 9804.“During that time, there was an acute shortage of oxygen, not just in Bengaluru but across the country. We had supplied these concentrators to the northern states as well as remote parts of Karnataka. The initiative helped save lives when many, including the elderly, were in need,” Vinay told TOI, adding that there was no personal motive behind this act and that he has been involved in social work for a long time. “And even if these were for personal use, the govt had waived duty on oxygen concentrators during that time,” he said.In April 2021, the Union govt had indeed announced a waiver on customs duty for the import of life-saving drugs, medicines, and oxygen concentrators. An exemption was also provided for concentrators for personal use till July 2021, and it was during this period that Vinay procured them.However, the customs notice — addressed by the assistant commissioner of customs, audit commissionerate, Mumbai — directed Vinay to either pay the levied duty along with applicable interest or reply within 15 days with substantive contentions along with documentary support as to why the amount should not be demanded.Despite sending his reply, Vinay has not received any response from customs officials. “I have no means to contact the customs apart from an email, and my team’s letter hasn’t received any reply three months on,” he said.Vinay, who is regularly involved in raising awareness on the Indian Constitution through his ‘Reclaim Constitution’ initiative, added: “If there is no response, I plan to pursue the matter legally through a lawyer who has volunteered his support. I do not have the financial means to fight the case despite having all the facts to support it. There has been no communication on whether the case is closed; I want closure.”TOI contacted local customs officials on the matter but received no response.
