There is historical evidence of imposition of import duty during the ancient and medieval era, the development of organized taxation on imports and exports to its present form, originated in 1786, when the Britishers formed the first Board of Revenue in Calcutta.

In 1808, a New Board of Trade was established. The provincial import duties were replaced by uniform Tariff Act through Customs Duties Act, 1859 which was made applicable all territories in the country. The general rate of duty was 10%, which was subsequently revised to 7.5% in 1864. Several revisions in the Customs policy and tariff took place during subsequent years, though such revisions were mainly related to the textile products. Sea Customs Act was passed by Government in 1878. The Indian Tariff Act was passed in 1894. Air Customs having been covered under the India Aircrafts Act of 1911, the Land Customs Act was passed in 1924.

The Indian Customs Act, 1934, governed the Customs Tariff. After Independence, the Sea Customs Act and other allied enactments were repealed by a consolidating and amending legislation entitled the Customs Act, 1962 (CA). Similarly the Act of 1934 was repealed by the Customs Tariff Act, 1975(CTA).