Gov't relaxes import norms on cars above US$ 40k

[f450]

Originally Posted by straight6

I keep seeing Adnan Sami in his Jaguar XK. I doubt that's a super clean import.

I doubt most of Bollywood imports are clean!

[idnani]

This thread talks about cars that cost more than $40k however I was told that you CANNOT import a new car if its worth less than US$40,000

Is this true? Also does anyone know what would happen if you imported a new car and did not have the required 'type approval certificate'. Has anyone done this before or gotten around it. I ask because its not available from many manufacturers and seems like a silly rule...

[14000rpm]

just the right thread to put my query. Now I'm in the custom car business and my partner is an american firm. I'm finding ways to get a 350Z down to india just to redesign it and ship it back. not driving it on indian roads coz its LHD. would appreciate the help in the right info.

[GTO]

@ 14000, you can try importing the car on carnet (temporary import). Look up this thread (ITS HERE !! The MEGA Mercedes SLR Mclaren in Mumbai) for more info.

[stanjohn123]

Have any of you guys ever realized how this government is cheating us of our rights to own a car which we truly deserve.I always believed a man is known completely by the car he owns. However this can not be the case in India mainly because our government has imposed taxes which are so absurd and stupid.I'm aware that these taxes came into effect a long time back just for domestic car makers like Tata,Mahendra and Maruti to gain a foothold in the Indian auto market so that they don't perish against foreign car's competition in our country. I'm pretty sure now as well as a lot of you would agree Indian car manufacturers like Tata have come a long way and they manufacture cars that are upto international standards plus considering the fact that they own Land Rover and Jaguar goes to show how much foothold they have in the Indian Auto market today.

But definitely my point is not about Indian car manufacturer's doing well but why does Foreign car manufacturers still have such an absurd tax on their cars due to the indian tax system still (which eventually we'll end up paying).For those of you who don't know,I believe a car's tax is based a bit on how much is it's horse power.So basically if a car has more horse power(HP) it will be charged more.So this means that if a car is 250 HP and actually costs only 10 Laks in any other country it would cost 45-55 Lakhs in India.Thats crazy people.And the vehicle i refer to here is none other than the Mitsubishi Pajero.This is just an example.And other cars like Skoda Laura 105 HP which actually just cost 5-6 Lakhs abroad cost an amusing 15-19 Lakhs in India and that too just for a puny 140 HP engine on the L & K.So on an approximate analysis we pay nearly 100-150 % price just as tax to our government when we opt to purchase a luxury vehicle which is definitely not the true value of the car.

So i just thought why are we paying more for vehicles than what they are actually worth. I mean do they pay you guys in your office for more than what you're worth for.I don't think so.All i wish and hope for is that one day someone makes this a political agenda and asks the government to think about the upper middle class indians for once (who are in minority ofcourse)apart from the lower class people(i don't have a prob with that either) and abolish this absurd tax system on cars which actually affects our character and personality indirectly.I really do want to buy a vehicle in the 30-40 Lakh range but only for what it's worth and not to give it away simply as tax to the governement (as its our hard earned money)and i do wanna see expensive cars on our roads but driven by normal people like you and me and not just film stars and politicians.

And if you all think this is just because i wanna buy a new car ,think again.I can just go to Kuwait becoz that's where i was born and brought up and a Ford Mustang GT costs just 10-15 Lakhs.I could just drive and enjoy the beauty of cars there itself but i just wish one day it's possible for me to drive those beautiful cars here as well.

[indiandevil]

Your analysis on the level of tax charged in terms of horsepower is completely skewed. Tax on an imported car is charged based on its initial retail value in the country you are importing from. The Basic Import duty is 100%, 4% additional duty and 3% Customs & Excise Cess, all percentages are based on the initial retail value, thus imported cars cost a little more than double in India. Additionally you have state & local taxes (i.e road, registration, etc.), which varies from state to state, with Nagaland being the least and Karnataka being the highest. Increasing the on-road cost of the vehicle even more. The tax seems a little justified as we have old, crumbling infrastructure that needs to be upgraded in the metros as well as the national network.

Now as for the 'protectionist' policy for our Auto Industry, seems to be a little justified as Tata, Mahindra, Maruti (to some extent Indian) have all developed from single model manufactureres to having a whole lineup of vehicles and more revenues for these companies. Additionally, this policy also forces international automakers to setup manufacturing or assembling plants in India, creating more FDI, local revenue and employment. And thus we have, most major manufacturers setting up operations in India to cater to the domestic market.

Unlike Kuwait, who is not bothered about a domestic auto industry because of the bed of OIL that country sits on, we Indians need some GDP contributing sectors in order to get our economy going, and create more employment for the vast amount of citizens that we have.

[stanjohn123]

I believe even if the import duties were 200 % our infrastructures would still be in the same state only. You should come down south here in Kanyakumari and see our roads.Its so pathetic and i don't know why we should pay so much tax on our cars.It doesn't justify it other than few people getting jobs in their manufacturing plants.So can't the base import duty of 100 % be reduced to 50 % or lower atleast ??

[ajay99]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

Have any of you guys ever realized how this government is cheating us of our rights to own a car which we truly deserve.I always believed a man is known completely by the car he owns. However this can not be the case in India mainly because our government has imposed taxes which are so absurd and stupid.I'm aware that these taxes came into effect a long time back just for domestic car makers like Tata,Mahendra and Maruti to gain a foothold in the Indian auto market so that they don't perish against foreign car's competition in our country. I'm pretty sure now as well as a lot of you would agree Indian car manufacturers like Tata have come a long way and they manufacture cars that are upto international standards plus considering the fact that they own Land Rover and Jaguar goes to show how much foothold they have in the Indian Auto market today.

But definitely my point is not about Indian car manufacturer's doing well but why does Foreign car manufacturers still have such an absurd tax on their cars due to the indian tax system still (which eventually we'll end up paying).For those of you who don't know,I believe a car's tax is based a bit on how much is it's horse power.So basically if a car has more horse power(HP) it will be charged more.So this means that if a car is 250 HP and actually costs only 10 Laks in any other country it would cost 45-55 Lakhs in India.Thats crazy people.And the vehicle i refer to here is none other than the Mitsubishi Pajero.This is just an example.And other cars like Skoda Laura 105 HP which actually just cost 5-6 Lakhs abroad cost an amusing 15-19 Lakhs in India and that too just for a puny 140 HP engine on the L & K.So on an approximate analysis we pay nearly 100-150 % price just as tax to our government when we opt to purchase a luxury vehicle which is definitely not the true value of the car.

So i just thought why are we paying more for vehicles than what they are actually worth. I mean do they pay you guys in your office for more than what you're worth for.I don't think so.All i wish and hope for is that one day someone makes this a political agenda and asks the government to think about the upper middle class indians for once (who are in minority ofcourse)apart from the lower class people(i don't have a prob with that either) and abolish this absurd tax system on cars which actually affects our character and personality indirectly.I really do want to buy a vehicle in the 30-40 Lakh range but only for what it's worth and not to give it away simply as tax to the governement (as its our hard earned money)and i do wanna see expensive cars on our roads but driven by normal people like you and me and not just film stars and politicians.

And if you all think this is just because i wanna buy a new car ,think again.I can just go to Kuwait becoz that's where i was born and brought up and a Ford Mustang GT costs just 10-15 Lakhs.I could just drive and enjoy the beauty of cars there itself but i just wish one day it's possible for me to drive those beautiful cars here as well.

that is the best option for you stanjohn,
INDIA is a country which is still a country which believes in taxing the rich and helping the poor as per the CONSTITUTION and so there is no wrong in graded taxation of cars(ie, luxury cars are taxed at higher rates)
formerly in KERALA,the road tax(LIFE TAX) was the same for a wagon R and a S class , now it has been changed ,wagon R is taxed at rs.15000/- and a S-class-Rs.400000/-!!!!.

[SirAlec]

Fully loaded 5 liter Lancrusier in US $64000 = Recently launched so called indian tweaked LC 89lac.

and autocar and similar PR magazines believe that people will buy it.

[stanjohn123]

Guess you're right buddy. Government reducing import tax just for our sake is a distant dream, might be able to change it if my dad was the finance minister or someone that important. Anyways i do have an option at least of going out but i pity the people stuck in India

[indiandevil]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

I believe even if the import duties were 200 % our infrastructures would still be in the same state only. You should come down south here in Kanyakumari and see our roads.Its so pathetic and i don't know why we should pay so much tax on our cars.It doesn't justify it other than few people getting jobs in their manufacturing plants.So can't the base import duty of 100 % be reduced to 50 % or lower atleast ??

Well that is the reason why we are still India and we are still where we are. The government takes money enough to provide autobahns from Kanyakumari to Jammu but we still have to suffer due to the various levels of corruption. And yet it is suprising that so many indians still buy foriegn cars in India, because I guess, there is a market over here willing to pay twice the amount for a product that is half everywhere else in the world.

[stanjohn123]

So do people buy these vehicles out of lack of knowledge for the actual value of these foreign cars or do they just buy it because they can't do anythin about it in India..I mean we Indians pay double the amount for these foreign cars and yet we don't get the respect or service from the Car Manufacturers we truly deserve..I say this because everyone would have noticed how sickening the after sales service of most expensive cars are here in India compared to foreign countries who pay just half of what we pay ..I mean hell i got loads of experience purchasing a Laura and a Ford Endeavour..It's so sickening the way these service agents even respond...And for cars like Benz i hear customers dont get even a single free service in India whereas in other countries customers get 2 free services from their dealers

So in the end isn't it really stupid that we have to pay so much and not enjoy our vehicles to the fullest in India..Man each time you go out you'll just have to be scared half the time driving trying to avoid scratch's on your vehicle,not that you can't pay for the repairs but just because you don't want your vehicle to spend a whole month in the dealers workshop with those arrogant fools doing some nonsense who don't value our time and money.

And this is why i asked isn't there a way at all to educate indian's on how we get cheated here and put an end to this abnormal tax structure by making it a political agenda or somethin.

[kbk_75]

Dude, relax. We all know how much more expensive the cars are here. We know that (in many cases) the service is below par and the large majority of our roads are abysmal. Having said that, we live here. You want to own a car (any car, even a Maruti 800) you got to pay an inflated price for it, compared to overseas. Simple as that.

I also wish that duties on cars would be 25%-30% and that our infrastructure would be world class. No harm in dreaming, right?