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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-16.html)

Thank You Roamer, I would definitely consider the PG Portal. Previously my dashcam was stuck with customs for 10 days and later I received it after paying the customs duty. I would wait for few more days to observe what's happening. CPL Filter value is just 12.90 USD, so it won't attract any customs duty also.

But what's surprising here is why the package which needs to be delivered in Chennai gets transported to Kochi from Chennai. Hope India Post has the answer.

Thanks,
TK

Please Help. This is the first time I'm ordering from Aliexpress. Order date was 29.08.2019, Item : VIOFO Dash Cam.

I've received following SMS, The link given is not a secure site. Should I upload the documents as mentioned here? They say have to communicate within 24hrs. The docket number they've mentioned does not match with the docket number shown at Aliexpress site, also the courier there is shown as EMS.

"Dear ******,
Your parcel with docket number: *****883 for (car camera_1) is expected to arrive. Since this is coming from outside India, as per Govt. regulations, we request you to furnish your KYC. To submit your KYC, click on the link http://gakyc.in/
ID PROOF, ADDRESS PROOF: AADHAR CARD (Front & back), VOTER ID (Front & back ), PAN CARD, PASSPORT
Note:- If KYC documents are not shared within 24 hrs then the shipment will be held in customs. Also. please note that it's a DDP shipment no extra duty and charges involved here. For further queries please reach us on kyc@gaticn.com"

I remember having completed my KYC a few years back with Gati. Since then, there are no more requests though I have got a gazillion consignments delivered by them. Same case with Aramex and Fedex as well. I think you can go ahead and provide them a copy of your PAN or Adhaar. As far as I remember, I have never been asked for passport details, and neither would I have provided it to them since its irrelevant.

Please check the authenticity of the webpage. Looks like the domain is only 72 days old. And why would GATI have separate domain for KYC. Moreover the email specifies a different domain name. Please proceed with caution.

This is the original authentic website of GATI https://www.gati.com/. Please call up the customer care and check if it is true. Also check the sender ID from which you got the SMS.

1. EMS is Express Mail Service, an international arrangement for mail delivery whose Indian partner is our Speed Post. You can use Speed Post's tracking system at https://www.indiapost.gov.in/_layout...nsignment.aspx to track your package.

2. The http -> https improvement only gives you peer authentication and protection from in-transit theft of information. It by no means assures you of protection while in storage. The same site is available on https://gakyc.in with a self-signed certificate (which gives you in-transit theft protection, but still no peer authentication). It is your call whether to trust the site or not. If you were to ask me, very few organisations really do in-storage protection correctly, so at times you have to do the risk-reward calculation yourself.

I ordered my dash cam on 26th itself. But I don't see sms sent to me. The order tracking is still stuck at customs since 4th Sep. What are my options.

I ordered a car audio system worth $100 and its been stuck in customs for 10 days in Chennai as per AliExpress. I have not been contacted. I am happy to pay customs but don't know how to go about it. Any pointers? please:

~m

^^
It is normal for items to be stuck in customs for even a month. Just ensure that your Aliexpress purchase protection does not run out. Extend it if necessary. As for the duty, your post man will usually collect it from you during package delivery. If the item is big (in dimension) for the post man to carry, they will call you and you can go and pick it from the PO after paying the duty.

Thanks for the quick response. Will wait out for another 10 days and update here.

~m

Dear all,
Its a repeated query asked about customs delays. I see some people getting worried over 5-10 days of no update. Its completely normal. If you go behind a few pages you can know what is the expected wait time for such consignments. Please expect a one month turnaround time for these parcels and dont rely on the tracking info. They are not very accurate and not updated promptly. Anything beyond one month from the date of despatch is when you have to think of worrying about what to do next. Until then, forget about the parcel or its status instead of posting a query here.

I was planning to order some books from US and wanted to have an understanding of how the customs for the same works out. Can someone enlighten me on what rate is the duty applied at and also is there any threshold above which the duty is applied? Any personal experiences on the same will also be helpful.
Thanks in advance.

So far I have not paid any duty on books ordered from abroad via Amazon, Osprey etc. The same was the case in my professional life when bulky manuals were ordered or brought in as a part of passenger baggage.

This happened to me. And I already have paid the duty. But I will like to run it past the experts here to see if there is or was anything I could have done better.

In brief :

1. I now work and stay in Sydney.

2. I travelled to India for my brother in law wedding. Unfortunately I lost my bag pack containing office laptop, personal IPad and a Nexus tablet at transit in Singapore airport.

3. Singapore authorities found the bag. I got it shipped to my brother in laws house via DHL.

4. A custom duty of 24k was levied on the shipment. Since the items were used I had put a total value of 900 AUD.

I paid the duty as laptop belongs to company and I am supposed to get it back within reasonable means. But I
will be taking these back with me to Sydney. So wondering if the duty levy was right.

I asked DHL many times if they could somehow communicate these special circumstances to the customs. But they maintained that they can't.

They said that the shipper should have declared the items as used in the invoice.

The shipper claimed that there is no use of this. The value declared will be used by customs to decide the duty.

And indeed it is true. Customs took the value to be 900 AUD as I put it there.

What is this IGST? It is almost 17k.

CUSTOMS DUTY (REIMBURSEMENT OF COST) 5,477.88
IGST (REIMBURSEMENT OF COST) 17,025.25
S W SURCHARGE(REIMBURSEMENT OF COST) 547.79
9967-BONDED STORAGE 500.00
9967-DISBURSEMENT FEE 576.27
IGST@ 18% 194.00

Is there anything shipper could have done better on its part. I still can't believe the duty of 24k.

Somehow I feel they processed my case as a company importing goods rather that a guy getting his lost laptop bag back.

Is there a process where I can claim back the duty while going back?

Otherwise I will just take it as an expensive lesson and move on.

There does seem to be a provision to claim refund using the re-export provision. A tax consultant may be able to help out.

http://www.eximguru.com/exim/indian-...-of-goods.aspx

This is first time i am ordering something from aliexpress.com - have used US amazon to deliver many items to India previously - no issues.

I had ordered a smart watch from aliexpress for $149. There was no request from me to under value the product. The product was dispatched on 8th by the seller and reached Chennai on the 21st of this motnh.

Initially tracked the order on Singapore Post and once it was handed over to Indian Post - tracked the order in Indian Postal Service site.


The current status is ''Retained by customs for unspecified reason''.

Should I action something or wait for the product to be delivered to me or will some one contact me?