[kvish]

I got a statement from customs (through post office) that said total Customs = '147+100' = 247
Does anyone know what the first and second numbers are? Or, did the customs fellow just change his mind and bump up my customs?

[im_srini]

Hi guys, need some help with Customs !

I recently bought, on eBay, the internals of a Ducati ST2 transmission. The auctioned parts were A) the selector drum, B) selector forks, C) input & output shafts, & D) selector mechanism. The gearbox casing, bearings, & other parts that would make this a complete transmission were not part of the auction. I bought this item since it was quite cheap & also, I'd recently bought a CAD pogram & thought it would be a good way to start using the software by mocking up the ST2 transmission parts in it & create a desktop sculpture (of sorts).

Anyway, I've received a letter from Customs that the shipment has been held back because the item, a "used transmission", is restricted under paragraph 2.17 of the Foreign-Trade-Policy (supposed to be read with Vol. 1 of 'Handbook Of Procedures', 2009-2014). I'm to produce an import license or respond with why the parts aren't to be confisticated !

I looked this up & quoting verbatim from paragraph 2.17 of the Foreign-Trade-Policy:

"All second hand goods, except second hand capital goods, shall be restricted for imports and may be imported only in accordance with provisions of FTP, ITC (HS), HBP v1, Public Notice or an Authorisation issued in this regard. Import of second hand capital goods, including refurbished re-conditioned spares shall be allowed freely. However, second hand personal computers / laptops, photocopier machines, air-conditioners, diesel generating sets will only be allowed against a licence. Import of re-manufactured goods shall be allowed only against a licence".

The ITC-HS codes (Indian-Trade-Clarification/Harmonized-System) for the ST2 transmission parts appears to be:
A) 8483 - Transmission shafts (including camshafts and crankshafts) and cranks; bearings housings and plain
B) 84839000 - Toothed wheels, chain sprockets and other transmission elements presented separately

Now, both of these do not require a license to import.

Coming to the the "handbook" that's to be referred along with 2.17 of the FTP, the only section that deals with second-hand goods is Section-2.33, which states:

"Import of second hand capital goods including refurbished/reconditioned spares, except those of personal computers/laptops, shall be allowed freely, subject to conditions for [the] following categories:
- Import of second hand computers including personal computers/laptops and refurbished/reconditioned spares thereof is restricted.
- Import of refurbished/reconditioned spares of capital goods, other than those of personal computers/laptops will be allowed on production of a Chartered Engineer certificate that such spares have atleast 80% residual life of original spare".

I don't think the parts shipped can be termed as "Capital Goods" & the ITC-HS codes indicate that I do not need a license for their import. Could somebody with experience in these matters comment if I'm correct or not ? Has anybody else had to endure a similar experience with Customs (?) & what was the outcome ?

[wads78]

Originally Posted by im_srini

Import of second hand capital goods, including refurbished re-conditioned spares shall be allowed freely.

OT: Under this rule can we import used Diesel engines?

[Ajaybiz]

Sorry to hear that but its true 2nd hand automobile parts are restricted in India, i suffered a lot and many items they returned to the seller and due to non return policy from seller i didn't get the refund as well.
Always import new things if its through fast couriers like UPS, DHL etc, or best is use USPS it lands to local customs and they are quite open for bribe and releasing the stuff without charging any duty.

[im_srini]

Originally Posted by wads78

OT: Under this rule can we import used Diesel engines?

You'll need to look up the ITC-HS code(s) under which diesel engines are categorized (fully-assembled or in parts). With each code is associated an import requirement, i.e. Prohibited (can't import), Restricted (import license required), or Free (no license required). The ITC-HS codes can be easily found online, one source is:

Harmonized Code List, HS Code, HS Tariff

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

Always import new things if its through fast couriers like UPS, DHL etc, or best is use USPS it lands to local customs and they are quite open for bribe and releasing the stuff without charging any duty.

The seller did ship via USPS (Priority-International), but still it was flagged ! The Customs notice did mention that I could ask for a personal hearing though, planning to take them up on their offer...