The Supreme Court of India has initiated proceedings to address an appeal from the customs department concerning the integrated goods and services tax (IGST) on imported lithium-ion batteries. The appeal targets a 28% IGST rate, contesting a 12% rate established by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) in 2025. Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan are set to hear the case, which includes responses from prominent mobile phone manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, Vivo, and Oppo. The customs department argues that the batteries should not be classified as parts of mobile phones due to their independent commercial identity and separate tariff classification. This classification issue is central to the appeal, as the department claims that manufacturers have misclassified these goods to take advantage of the lower tax rate.