How to File a Complaint against a Custom Officer?

Customs is an authority whose responsibility is to collect, manage and regulate the selling or purchasing of goods into the country or out of the country.

Customs functions on three basic views i.e., taxation, security, and trade facilitation. Various laws and regulations govern the customs in India.

Any goods which are bought outside India will be charged a customs duty tax by Indian customs. To save this taxation, some people try to smuggle goods into India by unfair means.

Doing this is a punishable offense and would involve a penalty or in some cases imprisonment. You’ll have to report whatever you bring into the country and pay the applicable taxes on them.

Now, people also indulge in bribing the custom officer to make their way into bringing illegal goods and smuggling items into the country.

As a responsible citizen, you should file a complaint against such items to protect India’s interest. There are various customs zones in India where the grievances system is established also, you can file a complaint with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.

In this article, we will discuss how to file a complaint against a customs officer or any other grievances that you have with India Customs.

How to File a Complaint against a Custom Officer?

List of Custom Zones in India

The following is the list of custom zones in India-

  • Ahmedabad Zone
  • Bangalore Zone
  • Bhopal Zone
  • Bhubaneshwar Zone
  • Chandigarh Zone
  • Chennai Zone
  • Cochin Zone
  • Hyderabad Zone
  • Jaipur Zone
  • Kolkata Zone
  • Lucknow Zone
  • Visakhapatnam Zone
  • Vadodara Zone
  • Shillong Zone
  • Ranchi Zone
  • Pune Zone
  • Nagpur Zone
  • Mumbai Zone
  • Meerut Zone
  • Delhi Zone

When can you make a Grievance in the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs?

You can file a complaint with the grievance officer regarding any problem you face. The Grievances can primarily be divided into three categories:

  • Complaints of corrupt practices against officers
  • Delay in decision-making by officers
  • Grievances against merits of the decision taken by officers

Apart from these categories, you can file other cases as well however, we have broadly divided the category of the complaint which are commonly faced by individuals.

Contact Details of the Central Vigilance Officer

The following are the contact details of the Central Vigilance Officer where you can file your complaint-

Name of OfficeName of Officer and AddressJurisdiction
Delhi (Hqrs.)Smt. Suchitra Sharma
Principal Director General
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
2nd Floor, Hotel Samrat
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021
Phone-(011)26115722
Fax-(011) 26115724
E-Mail : [email protected]
All India
Delhi (Hqrs.)Smt. Aruna N.Gupta
Principal Additional Director General
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
3rd Floor, Hotel Samrat
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021
Phone-(011)26115731
Fax-(011) 26115726
All India
Delhi (Hqrs.)Sh.Mihir Kumar
Additional Director General
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
3rd Floor, Hotel Samrat
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021
Phone-(011))21610891
Fax-(011) 26115726
Delhi (Hqrs.)
Delhi (Hqrs.)Ms. Capt. Kapil Chaudhary
Additional Director General
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
3rd Floor, Hotel Samrat
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021
Phone-(011)21610083
Fax-(011) 26115726
Delhi (Hqrs.)
Delhi (Hqrs.)Shri Pramod Kumar
Additional Director General
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
3rd Floor, Hotel Samrat
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021
Phone-(011)216115725
Fax-(011) 26115726
AD.V
Delhi (North Zonal Unit)Shri Srinivas Murty Tata
Principal Additional Director General
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, NZU, 2nd Floor, C.R.Building, I.P.Estate
New Delhi-110002
Phone-(011)23370006
Fax-(011)23370982
Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan
Lucknow  (Lucknow Zonal Unit)Shri  Vinay Kumar Singh
Additional Director General
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, LZU
7-R, Dalibagh, Lucknow
Phone- (0522) 2204412
Fax- (0522) 2204413
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,  Bihar, and Jharkhand
Mumbai  (West Zonal Unit)Sh.Upendra Singh Yadav
Additional Director General
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, West Zonal Unit, 7th Floor, Annexe Building, New Custom House, Ballard Estate, Mumbai- 400001
Phone-(022) 22619506 (O)
Fax-(022) 22675377
Maharashtra, Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Ahmedabad  (Ahmedabad Zonal Unit))Shri  Suresh Nandanwar
Additional Director General
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, AZU
4th & 5th Floor, BSNL Naranpura Telephone Exchange Building, Near Mangal Murti, Naranpura, Ahmedabad- 380063
Phone- (079)-27475551, (079)-27475553
[email protected]
Gujarat
Chennai (South Zonal Unit)Shri Mayank Kumar
Additional Director General
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, SZU,  5th Floor, Krishna Block, Custom House No. 60, Rajaji Salai,
Chennai-600001
Phone-(044)25233063
Fax-(044)25220713
E-Mail: [email protected]
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondichery, and Lakshadweep
Hyderabad (Hyderabad Zonal Unit)Shri  S. A. Usmani
Additional Director General 
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, HZU
H-No. 1-11-251/10, SV’s Trinubh Height, Begumpet, Hyderabad-500004.
Phone-(044) 27764192
Fax- (040) 27764195
E-mail : [email protected]
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana 
Kolkata (East Zonal Unit)Sh. Ataur Rehman
Additional Director General
Directorate General of Vigilance
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, EZU, 4thfloor, Bamboo Villa, 169, A.J Bose Road
Kolkata- 700014
Phone-(033)22866917-
Fax-(033)22866932
West Bengal, Odisha, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Assam, Nagaland and Andanam and Nicobar 

How to File a Complaint against a Custom Officer?

You can file your complaint against a custom officer by writing a letter to the above-mentioned vigilance officers. Apart from these vigilance officers, you can also file your complaint on the zonal level as well i.e., vigilance officer of your Zone vigilance officer. Apart from a letter, you can also communicate with them via email or simply visit the officer’s premises and communicate your grievances there.