[abhijet.sen]

Hi Friends

Can any of you suggest what the process is for importing a car into India and what sort of charges are involved? I have an Audi Q5 (2013) with only 85K in oddo. Will like to shift it to India under transfer of residence if charges are reasonable and process is not very complex. It will be good to know if you have gone through similar process and share your expertise. Don't want it to be be stuck at customs endlessly for clearances. Any suggestions are welcome.

Regards

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by abhijet.sen

Hi Friends

Can any of you suggest what the process is for importing a car into India and what sort of charges are involved? I have an Audi Q5 (2013) with only 85K in oddo. Will like to shift it to India under transfer of residence if charges are reasonable and process is not very complex. It will be good to know if you have gone through similar process and share your expertise. Don't want it to be be stuck at customs endlessly for clearances. Any suggestions are welcome.

Regards

Is is worth it?

You can get an equivalent one for around Rs 15 L in Bangalore - Diesel

Dont bother. Assuming you are importing from the UK, you would have paid 30000 pounds for it new. Assuming max depreciation and your car is valued at 30% of its value - That is Rs 900000

Add - Rs 200000 for freight (shipping is pricey at the moment) and Insurance. Now lets do the math



and we have not spoken about clearing agent charges, issues with pollution certification and RTO's might only register BS 6. The LTT road tax, the under the table stuff!

If you have to throw money away - give it to a worthy charity!

[OffRoadFun]

Do not waste your time even thinking about it! The complex laws will ensure it is not worth it, even with transfer of residence.
There is a reason one does not see any such cars here in India.

[IamNikhil]

Don't even dream of importing a car into India, via sophisticated means. Not only will you be left with a hole in your pocket, but you will also curse yourself for it. Saying it will be an ordeal would be an understatement. A lot of shady touts claim to ease the process, but obviously they charge a bomb.

You'd be better-off buying an equivalent used car in India, considering the current depreciated value of your car anyway.

Save your time, energy and most importantly money for better things in life. Cheers!

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by abhijet.sen

for importing a car into India and what sort of charges are involved? I have an Audi Q5 (2013) with only 85K in oddo. Will like to shift it to India under transfer of residence if charges are reasonable and process is not very complex.

1. You can import it via TR, provided it is RHD and you have stayed in the foreign country for xx years and owned the car for xx years.

2. Can understand if it is an emotional vehicle or a rare model, especially one that was not sold in India. The Q5 was assembled here, offered in multiple engine options and variants. Can't see a reason to import it to India, unless it is one of those, 'am going to drive this car till my death' ones. So, unless it is a heavily emotional one, just sell the car there and buy one in India.

3. The UK spec model may not have gone through the tropicalisation that the Indian model did.

[safe_rider]

This post reminded me of this.

A couple of months back, I have placed an order for some stickers and keychains from MotoGP store (Italy) for just 10,000/- and I ended up paying double the price of it. I know they aren’t worth, but I still went ahead to support the sport (mildly happy) !

Item cost = 10000
Shipping cost = 5000
Customs cost = 5000

In summary, a BIG NO for importing a car unless you really want to donate your hard earned money to Govt !!

[v1p3r]

From my experience, customs issues and formalities will be handled by a competent agent, and you won't have to do much except provide comprehensive documentation - from original invoice onwards.

You are eligible to import a car from the UK as long as:
1. You have owned the car for more than a year.
2. You have lived abroad for the last 2 years - this can also be defined as not having spent more than 60 days in India over the last 2 years. A good agent will sort this out for you as well.

Since your car is old, you will be billed for a depreciated value on your original invoice. Your entire charges - customs, clearing, agency, etc - charges will end up being 3-4x of this depreciated value. So if your car is valued at 3 lakhs, you'll pay 9-12 lakhs to get it into India.

Registration will be separate, and the new and very unintelligent RTO system does not let you register a car that isn't BS6, no matter that it is imported.

[Raghu M]

Like others mentioned, it's a NO. Importing a super car which is not found in our markets is fine (as people are ready to dole out big money to flaunt). Taking this route to import a dated car (older than 5 years) is not worth the efforts. You may have a great sense of belonging with it but trust me, the paper work is too much to deal with in today's times.

Many cricketers sell off their 'man of the tournament' prizes (mostly cars) and just take the money as taking a car to their country makes no logic at all. Buy a good used car here if you are fine with it, it will save you a lot of time and give you peace of mind.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by abhijet.sen

Hi Friends

Can any of you suggest what the process is for importing a car into India and what sort of charges are involved? I have an Audi Q5 (2013) with only 85K in oddo. Will like to shift it to India under transfer of residence if charges are reasonable and process is not very complex. It will be good to know if you have gone through similar process and share your expertise. Don't want it to be be stuck at customs endlessly for clearances. Any suggestions are welcome.

Regards

If it was a car that was not available in India, Like an Alfa Romeo Stelvio, I would have definitely said yes; but it's a Audi Q5 which is already available in our market.
You will be an to find a Q5 with less than 85K kms for the money less than that may cost you to get yours here.

[turbowhistle]

Easier option would be to sell the car in UK/Europe ( wherever you are) for 15-17K and use the same to buy a newer model here in India. Import costs alone will be more than that.

Don't get into the hassles of importing, your car will be sitting idle for few months at port if something goes wrong with documents and it's a recipe for disaster if you ask me.

[Amsdoc]

Not a great idea. As everyone has mentioned.
When I moved back to India on a TR I brought back all my house contents in a container. That was well worth it. I even had space in my container for my Ducati but I was strongly advised not to bring that.
The whole shipment can get stuck because of the vehicle. Plus there are crazy laws and load of unscrupulous officials involved. Apart from the taxes et all you will have to bribe officials to release your vehicle. Someone even told me that if your speedo is in mph as mine was you will need to get it converted to kmph before it can get registered here .
In short it is not even worth considering. Sell it..get your money and buy something out here.

[mufeez1234]

An impractical but quick question.

What if OP disassembles the car and imports it like parts to register it at local RTO by doing some jugaad?

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by mufeez1234

An impractical but quick question.

What if OP disassembles the car and imports it like parts to register it at local RTO by doing some jugaad?

This comment caught my eye

Firstly, he will have DRI at his doorstep. Even if he manages that the amount of jugaad will involve another scrap Q5 with the same engine and all this will be worth the value of a brand new 2021 Q5. On a serious note, please do not give out such suggestions to anyone. This was a big scam back in the 90s and a lot of people have been ruined because of this.

[Nanolover]

Agree to all member comments in the forum. Not even worth it dealing with customs and dungeon like warehouses. I came back from Japan and sent a few items via shipping ( remember--all used house hold stuff , furniture etc. In hindsight a BIG mistake as all stuff are now available in India and way way cheaper). Even with shipping, a clearing agent and all in place, I ended up paying duty for these used trivial items. Ended up wasting a day in Cochin for inspection and believe me, not even worth the pain. And the customs had the gall to charge me duty for these stuff, take it or leave it.

Also, whenever we used to import certain stuff like Japanese rice and all ( for my wife, she is Japanese), each and every time the duty via post was more than the value of the stuff in it. Not to mention, they tear open the parcel and destroy half the stuff inside.

We have stopped now and now my wife flies out to Japan/ Singapore, get all the stuff we want in our baggage and come back. It is much simpler and no hassle of dealing with bureaucracy.

[frewper]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Registration will be separate, and the new and very unintelligent RTO system does not let you register a car that isn't BS6, no matter that it is imported.

Good Point. This single point itself if enough to not even think of importing the car to India. Not even if there is an emotional value attached to the car.

Dont get into it. It will be a headache on its own to get the car into the country. Then you wont be allowed to register. Even if you are able to, it will still be illegal to do so.