[josh.machine]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Josh - The custom law says that we must pay 35% of the cost of the corresponding Indian price of the same model. Say if you buy a 60 inch TV for 1200 AUD, and the same (nearest model) TV is priced at Rs 5,00,000, we need to pay Rs 1,75,000 in duties and customs. I was planning a 60 inch from US, but dropped the idea.

Regarding Shipping, I do not recommend bringing it thru Air as there is too much baggage mishandling at airports. Ship is the best way to send it to india. Shipping agent takes care of packing, insurance, handling customs and delivering to your house.

Hey thanks for your reply. Actually i am getting the 48inch TV at dirt cheap rate of 400$ hence unable to let go of it. Also i saw many threads and experiences of people having had successfully brought the tv's through flight hence thinking of taking the risk since it will be in its original packing. How can i find out what sort of import duty to be expected?

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by josh.machine

Hey thanks for your reply. Actually i am getting the 48inch TV at dirt cheap rate of 400$ hence unable to let go of it. Also i saw many threads and experiences of people having had successfully brought the tv's through flight hence thinking of taking the risk since it will be in its original packing. How can i find out what sort of import duty to be expected?

The duty is 35% + Tax + cess . Effectively it is 36.05%. Google it and zillions of websites will give you the info.

Totally agree that you got a $400 worth 48 inch TV. In india, the same 48 inch TV costs anywhere between 90,000 for Sony and 1,54,000 for Samsung. Indian Customs will expect you to pay Rs 45062 (assuming 36.05% of an average 48 inch TV as 1,25,000/-) as duties/customs. Initially it was #120 (30% of $400) but now the laws have changed. secondly, TV is NOT a part of the duty free / permitted limit. Example, you have only this TV as a dutiable item, customs would not deduct the 35,000/- free limit allowance.

Well, absolutely - Many bring in TVs undamaged, but the risk is far too much. In case it breaks, neither the airline or AAI takes up responsibility. It is purely a personal choice on how much you would like to take risk, I personally dont take any risks as far as possible.

[josh.machine]

Thanks again for the informative post. I have dropped the idea of getting it if i need to pay so much duty :(

[richie4u]

Well Josh I recently bought a TV on offer from Dubai,same 48 inch and I too got a dirt cheap offer which I could not resist,ultimately decided to buy it and brought it along with me on flight,had to pay for oversize baggage and guess what,The customs at Mumbai charge 35% on the original invoice(the customs officer was shocked and smiled at the deal I got away with including the duty charge). So if you are getting the TV that cheap you might want to think again. As regards to risk,I wrapped my TV in sponge+clear wrap+duct tape and it did the trick,got it without a scratch.

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by richie4u

Well Josh I recently bought a TV on offer from Dubai,same 48 inch and I too got a dirt cheap offer which I could not resist,ultimately decided to buy it and brought it along with me on flight,had to pay for oversize baggage and guess what,The customs at Mumbai charge 35% on the original invoice(the customs officer was shocked and smiled at the deal I got away with including the duty charge). So if you are getting the TV that cheap you might want to think again. As regards to risk,I wrapped my TV in sponge+clear wrap+duct tape and it did the trick,got it without a scratch.

Hey !! thats nice - you are lucky. Customs told me that they would charge the Indian equivalent of the TV price.

I was planning a 72 inch TV from US for $1200. Duties if of the invoice amount would be $432(36.05%). So total value is 1200+432 = $1632. This is Rs 97920/- for a 72 inch TV. The 72 inch costs 5 lacs in india and i was told duties would be close to 2 lacs for a 72 inch tv. Even if we pay duty, the deal is very lucrative.

[josh.machine]

Originally Posted by richie4u

Well Josh I recently bought a TV on offer from Dubai,same 48 inch and I too got a dirt cheap offer which I could not resist,ultimately decided to buy it and brought it along with me on flight,had to pay for oversize baggage and guess what,The customs at Mumbai charge 35% on the original invoice(the customs officer was shocked and smiled at the deal I got away with including the duty charge). So if you are getting the TV that cheap you might want to think again. As regards to risk,I wrapped my TV in sponge+clear wrap+duct tape and it did the trick,got it without a scratch.

Mate thats an amazing deal you got there. Not sure if i would end up that lucky and from what i read it is indeed 35% on the Indian retail price. Which would not make any sense and i rather buy in the army canteen.

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by josh.machine

Mate thats an amazing deal you got there. Not sure if i would end up that lucky and from what i read it is indeed 35% on the Indian retail price. Which would not make any sense and i rather buy in the army canteen.

The reason they bought this is that people undervalue the product to reduce Duty.

Example: Buy a TV from a shop at say USD $1200. Put a fake advertisement on Craigslist like "used TV for sale" and undervalue it to say $700 for some junk reason like TV does not fit apartment, unhappy with TV, moving to another state etc. Start a fake conversation and take a print out of that and say pay 600-650 for the TV. This way one would pay only $235 for a $1200 worth TV .

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Hey !! thats nice - you are lucky. Customs told me that they would charge the Indian equivalent of the TV price.

I was planning a 72 inch TV from US for $1200. Duties if of the invoice amount would be $432(36.05%). So total value is 1200+432 = $1632. This is Rs 97920/- for a 72 inch TV. The 72 inch costs 5 lacs in india and i was told duties would be close to 2 lacs for a 72 inch tv. Even if we pay duty, the deal is very lucrative.

What is the point in calculating it on Indian price? I have always paid duty on the original price and not on the Indian price. I have seen that customs uses a list to get the price items when you dont have the invoice and even in such cases the price was much lesser than the Indian price.

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by srishiva

What is the point in calculating it on Indian price? I have always paid duty on the original price and not on the Indian price. I have seen that customs uses a list to get the price items when you dont have the invoice and even in such cases the price was much lesser than the Indian price.

That is the best way to squeeze the common man. If something is popular with people Govt will tax it. The same applies to SUVs too (extra tax for SUVs).

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

That is the best way to squeeze the common man. If something is popular with people Govt will tax it. The same applies to SUVs too (extra tax for SUVs).

I think the govt is actually worried about development for which they need money

The duty is specifically items that are brought along as baggage. Hence, they cannot put duty over Indian price or treat it as imports?

[TorqueyTechie]

I know similar question has already been answered but just wanted to confirm on how the customs work on refurbished TV's.

I had bought a refurbished Philips 32" TV for 199$ last June. I would be returning back next month to India and wanted to check how the custom duty is charged for refurbished TV? Is it again on the original price or on the refurbished price that I had paid?

[Aksthedreamer]

Hi fellow team-bhp members.
I need some information urgently.
I am planning to get dji phantom 2 from b&h website usa.
The total cost is 959 dollars plus 120 dollars for shipping.
Since this product is officially not available in India, how much will the custom duty be charged?
This is a drone and can be categorized under toys, camcorders and electronics.
I need to get it by this month end as I have a shoot in the first week of september.
Any help will be appreciated.
Those guys at B&H will deliver the product at my place here in Delhi and will take the custom duty, that they will pay to the customs, from me. I just want to get an idea about the charges...

[197Horses]

Hello members!
I have ordered a product from www.dhgate.com
It is a website which sells chinese products.
The shipment has been shipped and when I was tracking it, I was shocked to see that it is held by customs.
Will I have to pay duties?
Can someone throw light on this ?

Thank You

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by 197Horses

Hello members!
....

The shipment has been shipped and when I was tracking it, I was shocked to see that it is held by customs.
Will I have to pay duties?
Can someone throw light on this ?

Thank You

What I have noticed is if its a "normal" item, then the item is cleared, and the courier or post office charges you the duty while taking delivery. If the item is something they are not comfortable clearing, then someone needs to have it cleared either by an agent or self (hardly works). On 2 occasions I bought RC kits, they were held back by the customs. In one case got an agent to clear it for me since I had already tried and given-up, and on the second occassion there was a good officer. He requested for the docs, and also wanted to see what I do, and once he was satisfied he cleared it.

Might help asking the courier guys to check on what is delaying the clearing. If its postal delivery, then not sure, probably a visit to the office might help.

[197Horses]

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

What I have noticed is if its a "normal" item, then the item is cleared, and the courier or post office charges you the duty while taking delivery. If the item is something they are not comfortable clearing, then someone needs to have it cleared either by an agent or self (hardly works). On 2 occasions I bought RC kits, they were held back by the customs. In one case got an agent to clear it for me since I had already tried and given-up, and on the second occassion there was a good officer. He requested for the docs, and also wanted to see what I do, and once he was satisfied he cleared it.

Might help asking the courier guys to check on what is delaying the clearing. If its postal delivery, then not sure, probably a visit to the office might help.

Okay Raghu.tk
Thank you.
Actually the item is of plastic. They are brembo caliper covers. But the problem is that they are in bulk. 50 sets.
I hope everything goes fine.