[riteshritesh]

Originally Posted by Roja

Hi Ritesh,
I understand you know the business of customs pretty well. I have a question which is a little different: My partner and I are planning to drive from Italy to India, in a car that she owns there, and subsequently, keep the car here. Just wondering if this is possible at all? In normal cases, what is usually required is a carnate, but in this case since we plan to keep the car here, do you think its possible?
Yea and to add to everything - I have read LHD are not allowed in India? So what do you make of it?
Many thanks
R

You are correct. Under CARNET, you need to take the car back within 6 months.
And LHD cars are prohibited in India, so you have no option of keeping the car back in India ( imported under CARNET). Under regular import, the car will not be allowed to be custom cleared.

[Rosso Corsa]

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

You are correct. Under CARNET, you need to take the car back within 6 months.
And LHD cars are prohibited in India, so you have no option of keeping the car back in India ( imported under CARNET).

So you mean I can get an RHD car to India under CARNET and then get it registered (provided it fulfills the import norms) ? I've never heard of this happening here.

[Anand123]

Originally Posted by Rosso Corsa

So you mean I can get an RHD car to India under CARNET and then get it registered (provided it fulfills the import norms) ? I've never heard of this happening here.

No, a car brought under Carnet can't be regd in India. A RHD car can be brought under Transfer of Residense and can be regd here.

[riteshritesh]

Originally Posted by Rosso Corsa

So you mean I can get an RHD car to India under CARNET and then get it registered (provided it fulfills the import norms) ? I've never heard of this happening here.

If you comply with all car import requirements, then you can apply to the Indian Customs to treat it as a regular car import upon payment of full duty,showing your employment letter, getting a work visa in the meanwhile etc.

Why you don't see it is because of the trouble one will have to go through to convince the ATA CARNET issuing agency about your 'sudden' transfer of residence, whilst on a visit to a country abroad and getting an employment letter/visa from the country of visit. The probability of such an occurrence is rare, which is why we haven't heard of such cases.

Though technically if all of the above does happen, the Indian Customs shouldn't have a problem in accepting duty and treating it as T/R import.

[Rosso Corsa]

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

If you comply with all car import requirements, then you can apply to the Indian Customs to treat it as a regular car import upon payment of full duty,showing your employment letter, getting a work visa in the meanwhile etc.

Why you don't see it is because of the trouble one will have to go through to convince the ATA CARNET issuing agency about your 'sudden' transfer of residence, whilst on a visit to a country abroad and getting an employment letter/visa from the country of visit. The probability of such an occurrence is rare, which is why we haven't heard of such cases.

Though technically if all of the above does happen, the Indian Customs shouldn't have a problem in accepting duty and treating it as T/R import.

As far as getting a car to another country under CARNET and registering it there is concerned, is TR compulsory to do this?

About 2 or 3 years back the Al Thani royal family brought their famous Turquoise Blue Koenigsegg CCX-R and Lamborghini Murcielago SV to UK on carnet from Qatar and eventually registered the cars in UK.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Rosso Corsa

As far as getting a car to another country under CARNET and registering it there is concerned, is TR compulsory to do this?

About 2 or 3 years back the Al Thani royal family brought their famous Turquoise Blue Koenigsegg CCX-R and Lamborghini Murcielago SV to UK on carnet from Qatar and eventually registered the cars in UK.

The UK have different rules. Any car can be imported as long as they conform to local regulations, the relevant taxes are paid and they pass the MOT test.

[Mosalf]

Hi I am based in UAE and have come accross several RHD Landcruisers (1993-1997) models which are suitable for Indian driving conditions.

These models were the best manufactured by Toyota and have cult following in the USA for offroad as well as on road. There are several vehicles in diesel as well as petrol available here for reexport.

My query is, is there a possibility to import these in India. What would be the duty and charges for importing and registration. The vehicles are in the of 4500CC and 4200CC.

Am looking to bring one with me on transfer residence basis.

Please advise.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by Mosalf

Am looking to bring one with me on transfer residence basis.

Please advise.

Mosalf

Sorry to reply on a negative. There are no possibilities to do this.

For TR to India - the major pre-condition is that "the vehicle should have been registered in you name in the country of your residence at least for 1 year prior to import to India".

As you know UAE does'nt allow registration of RHD vehicles currently. So it will not clear the 1st hurdle.

Secondly, should you decide to take in a LHD vehicle - the "left hand drive penalty" that the Indian Customs can levy on LHD vehicle - is really arbitrary and can really be killing and open to all kinds of interpretations and below the table practices.

Best Regards & Drive Safely

Ram

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Mosalf

Sorry to reply on a negative. There are no possibilities to do this.

For TR to India - the major pre-condition is that "the vehicle should have been registered in you name in the country of your residence at least for 1 year prior to import to India".

As you know UAE does'nt allow registration of RHD vehicles currently. So it will not clear the 1st hurdle.

Secondly, should you decide to take in a LHD vehicle - the "left hand drive penalty" that the Indian Customs can levy on LHD vehicle - is really arbitrary and can really be killing and open to all kinds of interpretations and below the table practices.

Best Regards & Drive Safely

Ram

How about an LHD vehicle that was registered in the person's name for a year and then converted to RHD before being shipped?

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by nitrous

How about an LHD vehicle that was registered in the person's name for a year and then converted to RHD before being shipped?

Hi,

As you are probably aware - a vehicle that has been registered in UAE, will get an "export plate"/Certificate when you apply for an export permit.

The minute you change the vehicle to RHD then it becomes ineligible for any sort of registration in UAE and there is no way to get an export plate for it from UAE.

The Indian Customs will not allow entry of a vehicle under TR unless it come with an export plate/certificate from the country it was registered prior to export to India.

The RHD vehicle you see in the "auto export" markets are trade stocks and are treated as "goods" and have customs papers identifying them as such. They will not have any "RT authority Papers" as such when they are exported.

If the thought is to get a Export Plate/Certificate and then convert the vehicle to RHD and send it to India - then think again. In the age of IT our Customs guys are far more wiser than we think and are fully aware of legality of owning a vehicle in UAE and will haul you up on all counts possible.

These are my thoughts on the subject

Best Regards & Drive Safe

Ram

[Mosalf]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Hi,

As you are probably aware - a vehicle that has been registered in UAE, will get an "export plate"/Certificate when you apply for an export permit.

The minute you change the vehicle to RHD then it becomes ineligible for any sort of registration in UAE and there is no way to get an export plate for it from UAE.

The Indian Customs will not allow entry of a vehicle under TR unless it come with an export plate/certificate from the country it was registered prior to export to India.

The RHD vehicle you see in the "auto export" markets are trade stocks and are treated as "goods" and have customs papers identifying them as such. They will not have any "RT authority Papers" as such when they are exported.

If the thought is to get a Export Plate/Certificate and then convert the vehicle to RHD and send it to India - then think again. In the age of IT our Customs guys are far more wiser than we think and are fully aware of legality of owning a vehicle in UAE and will haul you up on all counts possible.

These are my thoughts on the subject

Best Regards & Drive Safe

Ram

Ram, thanks for the information, I believe you are correct on all counts.

So the only way to beat the system is go legal and that is to register a RHD vehicle in the UAE and keep it for a year. Okay will work around this. But what you are confirming is that on TR a 1996-1997 vehicle can be imported without much hassle on TR. THe applicable 3year age limit is overlooked.

Also, my search in on for a RHD / LHD 1982-84 BJ40 or FJ45....These would be now deemed as classics. Are these importable without the usual hassle?

I was under the impression that Classics could be LHD and these imports are allowed.

Please comment.

Regards,

Mosalfp

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Mosalf

Also, my search in on for a RHD / LHD 1982-84 BJ40 or FJ45....These would be now deemed as classics. Are these importable without the usual hassle?

I was under the impression that Classics could be LHD and these imports are allowed.

Please comment.

If I am right, the Western India Classic Car Association advises the customs on what qualifies as a classic car. The LHD may be allowed in but cannot be registered. They are clearly labelled as for exhibition only

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by Mosalf

But what you are confirming is that on TR a 1996-1997 vehicle can be imported without much hassle on TR. THe applicable 3year age limit is overlooked.

Yes this is the case, on TR, age of the vehicle is relaxed. A friend took in a 2007 model BMW Motorcycle last year (2014) under TR without hassles.

Best Regards & Drive Safe

Ram

[autodoctor]

Ok, So how do the authorities value a car being imported?
Do they have a database with price list of all the cars made?

For eg: if the car is a 1980's model built for U.K market. So RHD, has got Kmph (and mph) dials etc.

I would like to understand roughly how much tax will be charged to decide whether to go ahead or not.

Thanks

[Mosalf]

Originally Posted by autodoctor

Ok, So how do the authorities value a car being imported?
Do they have a database with price list of all the cars made?

For eg: if the car is a 1980's model built for U.K market. So RHD, has got Kmph (and mph) dials etc.

I would like to understand roughly how much tax will be charged to decide whether to go ahead or not.

Thanks

Hi AD, I called a friend in customs in Mumbai and he informed me the current Tax is 176%. The vehicle list price is already with the customs and they depreciate it to the current level. Then again, the market prices from various areas are found and accordingly calculated. For eg...the going price for a 1996-7 HDJ Turbo LC80 is around USD 8,000.00. Calculating 176% comes to 14080. Then theres transportation which could be another 1500 - 2000USD depending on where you are and who you know.

The maths just keeps adding up. I guess, its easier to import bikes and thats what most people coming back do. Further, you cannot sell the vehicle for two years per the current law. So it all adds up to good protection to local manufacturers within India.

Hope this was helpful.


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