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-   -   Question about Indian Customs and your experience (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/113610-question-about-indian-customs-your-experience-14.html)

I also have a model plane from China which was stuck in Customs in Mumbai for about 15-20 days. It was finally released but today I got a call from the local post office asking to pay Rs.1,200 in Customs duty!

I paid $21 for the model plane including shipping (says free shipping but probably included in the price). The declared value is $12 so at 42% customs duty I should be paying $5 or Rs.350.

Any idea how I reach out to customs ? I have refused this pay this inflated amount.

Was charged 1224 odd bucks for 2 Yi dash cams:


I was shown this receipt for the duty. He didn't give me a copy but allowed to take a pic:


Comparatively, my cycle GPS landed in quickly and no duty was charged as well:

The A4 sheet contains two copies in the sheet, he should have cut it in half and taken your signature on one copy and gave you the other copy.

I had ordered a set of LED lights from Aliexpress on the 12th of September 2018.

While the seller dispatched the order on 13th September it was sent to Singapore first and then it was received in Mumbai on the 20th.
Since the 22nd all the update that I have been getting is retained by customs for unspecified reason.

Reference pic


Can anyone suggest what can I do here? or does it usually takes this long.(First order on Aliexpress)

Any inputs, will really helpful.
Thanks in advance.

Regards.
Sahil.

I think do to the fall in the exchange rate of the Rupee versus the Dollar, customs has been given a mandate to discourage Indians from shopping online from abroad. They are doing this by checking almost every parcel coming and slapping random customs duty by valuing products much more than they are worth. This happened to me a few weeks back and currently I have two parcels stuck in Mumbai customs for nearly a month, previously they would have sailed through unchecked.

Thank You for your reply,

Your reply turned out to be lucky for me looks like.
Immediately after your reply, when I checked the Indian Post website for tracking my order, I was in for a pleasant surprise. The parcel had cleared customs and was on its way to the international post office for delivery.


Quick question though, does this mean I won't be charged customs?

And about the weakening Rupee issue can be true! which will directly result in such tactics by the Customs office.

So I guess in a matter of 4-5 working days the parcel should land up at my doorstep.

Unfortunately, I think you would be charged because it says "Record item customs information (Inb)" which means some customs amount was calculated.
Last time this happened to me I was charged an arbitrarily inflated amount. The local postman will usually call you before delivery informing you of the amount.

I guess I am unlucky then.
When BHPian @rahul_kej ordered the same set of lights a couple of months back he wasn't charged anything.
Let's wait and watch what happens.
Thanks for the heads up though.
You had mentioned a couple of posts back, that you were asked 1200 for your order of a scale plane which you refused to pay. Would like to know what happened in the end?

I eventually decided to pay after some analysis. Its not available in India and something close to it would still cost the same or more after paying customs duty.

You can refuse delivery and I think it will be returned, however I have never done that.

I guess returning the parcel would be too much, after desparately waiting for it for 25days.
But yes, it also depends on the amount the customs have slapped on it. If it's a reasonable amount like 500 it would still be ok. But if it's more than 1700 then I'll have to re-consider because then it would be more than the value of the package itself.
Hoping for the best here.
Will keep you posted.

Unfortunately your guess was spot on. The postman arrived at my doorstep yesterday afternoon without informing me beforehand about any custom charge which was strange. Rs. 742 was the custom charge, which I feel is quite steep, but there isn't much one can do when it comes to all this.
So all in all I ended up paying 1800 + 742.



But due to your heads up I had already informed people back at home that the postman would turn up and may ask for custom charges.

Thanks for your help.

Glad to have been of help:thumbs up Unfortunately two of my parcels are also stuck in Mumbai Customs with "Record item customs information (Inb)" so I can expect the same.

At least you were lucky that they valued the item at what you paid for it and applied 42% customs duty accordingly. My last parcel was overvalued at more than double and I had to pay 100% customs duty.

Please refer to the screenshot and help me with a few questions.

1. Has the parcel been cleared by the customs at Delhi or will it have to pass through the customs desk at Bengaluru GPO too?
2. Can I go to the GPO with an ID and request them to hand the parcel over to me in person or is it mandatory that it should be delivered at the postal address itself?
3. The item has been ordered off amazon with an assurance that I will not have to pay any duty. Just in case, i am asked to do so and i need to escalate the matter, how long will the post office hold on to the parcel before sending it back?

I guess if you go to GPO and check they wont have a clue since your parcel is not coming via India post. This looks like Gati to me or some other private operator. Always check in the website of the respective logistics provider for best clarity on status. Typically these websites and logistics providers have a crude interface and most of the times the interpretation done at this interface is wrong from the website side. The private players handle customs and clear it for you and then present a bill. Depending upon who that is but they are very quick compared to India post.

If you brought it through Amazon and they have specifically charged you customs and handling fee, you dont have to pay more except that they might need an ID proof from your side. But in the above case of yours, my bet is that the parcel is being delivered by Gati KWP, and there is no customs to be paid. Gati will deliver it tomorrow or day after if the final address is in Bangalore.

Thanks a lot. The parcel is to be delivered to Chikkamagaluru, so I may have to wait a bit. Request for id proof will come from the courrier company, i presume.

Off Topic:

The tracking info seems to be more of a placebo pill for the curious cats among us :). I have posted a screenshot in post #6110 of the Online shopping thread indicating how I could know the ghost location of this very parcel three days in advance through the tracking site :Frustrati.

Edit:

You were spot on. I searched the Gati site using the docket number provided by amazon and found that the parcel is being sent out of Bengaluru to the delivery destination. I may indeed receive it in a day or two. Thanks again for the pointer.