[Rtech]

Ok. Lets put an end to this guesswork. I finally found some accurate information on this. Here goes:

Source: Mumbai Customs Website

Passenger cars / jeeps / multi-utility vehicles / motor cycles etc. can be imported by passengers coming to India only on Transfer of Residence and by other importers as specified in Public Notice No. 3(RE/1997-02) of Directorate General of Foreign Trade, New Delhi, on payment of customs duty as prescribed in the Customs tariff. Passengers, other than those availing TR are not eligible to import vehicles even on the payment of customs duty. Total customs duty leviable on these vehicles at present, are as follows :

Customs duty for vehicles which had been registered abroad (Used vehicles)
Cars:
Basic duty: 105%
Addl. Duty: 24.48%
Total Duty: 159.87%

Motorcycles:
Basic duty: 105%
Addl. Duty: 16.32%
Total Duty: 142.64%

Customs duty for vehicles which had not been registered abroad (New vehicles)
Cars: **
Basic duty: 60%
Addl. Duty: 24.48%
Total Duty: 102.16%

Motorcycles: **
Basic duty: 60%
Addl. Duty: 16.32%
Total Duty: 88.70%
** if brought in Completely Knocked Down (CKD) condition, Basic Duty will be 20%. # Education Cess of 2% imposed in the budget has been considered.

DGFT has clarified vide Notification No-31(RE-2001)/97-02 dated 14.9.2001 that the conditions relating to import of vehicles as per Public Notice No. 4(RE-2001)/97-02 dated 31.03.2001, shall not be applicable on imports made under the provisions of aforementioned Public Notice No. 3(RE/1997-02) dated 31.03.2000. In simple words, the restrictions/conditions imposed on import of car by importers for commercial purpose shall not be applicable in case of the passengers bringing their own car on Transfer of Residence, except that these imports shall be subject to the condition that, the vehicle should have right hand steering and controls (applicable on vehicles other than 2 and 3 wheelers).

Value of these vehicles for the purpose of levy of customs duty is CIF value, where C stands for the cost of the goods, I is the insurance and F is the freight. Cost in the case of new vehicle is the transaction value between the seller and the buyer. However in the case of old and used vehicles, cost is arrived at by taking value of the vehicle in year of manufacture and after allowing depreciation at the following rates.

(i) For every quarter during 1st year - 4%
(ii) For every quarter during 2nd year - 3%
(iii) For every quarter during 3rd year - 2.5%
(iv) For every quarter during 4th year - 2%
and thereafter subject to a maximum depreciation of 70%

[manson]

RT, any concrete information on which vehicles, engines, parts are not permitted for imports?

manson.

[GTO]

Rt, can any individual import? Or is it limited to NRIs, export houses etc.?

[Sks_Biker]

@manson: My bad! Overlooked the model, but still havent found any 600cc bikes here for anything less than RM30k thats about INR3.5L. So I'm wondering where/how he got it

Anyway, he needs to make sure that the papers are in order as I suspect its a Thai registered bike.

@GTO: I'm not sure if the TR is still applicable, the last time I enquired with a person in Chennai I was told that its applicable for persons staying abroad for more than 2 years and that automobiles were about to be removed from the list of things allowed. I have'nt got the document to verify this.

Hmm, lemme search and ask a few people who are into this.

[SohailPistawala]

hey rtech, manson, and others.... thank you very much for all the information. Cleared a lots of doubts about riding and stuff.

Currently i am being around a lot of these beauties new and old like 600rr,1000rr, R6, R1, ZX6,ZX10 and more of such...( thanx to my childhood friend). cant disclose anything on the public forum, but would be greatful to help anybody buy a clean and neat bike new or old. LOLS....

Thanx once again all your biker boyssssssss

[manson]

GTO, last i checked any individual or company could import.
However, NRIs, export houses, hotels and other foreign exchange earning parties enjoy subsidies in the import duties.
But, (again await comfirmation on this) unless the import is being done on a transfer of residence, the vehicle to be brought down cannot be older than four years.

manson.

[GTO]

GTO, last i checked any individual or company could import.

So I can, as an individual, import any car? And if it is over $40000, then no homologation required either (as per the recent rules).

Sweet, but the import duty of 102% is still kill-ah!

[zeeshan suleman]

Originally Posted by GTO

Rt, can any individual import? Or is it limited to NRIs, export houses etc.?

hey , any indivisual can import vehicles as long as you clear all documentation process, the only thing being its quite a hassle and takes a while to get things done.

[Rtech]

I believe that, on the insistence (threats?) of the WTO, India was forced to allow the import of vehicles for anyone. That is when they, in a sly move to basically discourage this, introduced the ridiculous homologation requirement. With this rule, any vehicle that costs less than US$40,000 would need to be homologated first before it is allowed to be registered. In essence what this means is that you would need to buy 3-4 vehicles of the same make & model and hand those over to ARAI to conduct theirs tests on.

Then, after they approve it, you can import your personal car and register it. Albeit, you still have to pay the import duty for more than 100%. So legally, the Govt. has opened up the import of vehicles, but in reality, its now more closed then ever (except if you want a 40K$ or more vehicle).

This is why the TOR route is still, in reality, the only real way to bring a vehicle into India. For an individual that is.

[zeeshan suleman]

Hello All,

i would like to share my first expierience of riding a superbike with you so that it might help any one who might just get a chance to ride for the first time.

well theres is this really close friend of mine ( more like a brother to me) well he actually deals in imported bikes as he also has a clearing agency ( shipping ) so he gets bikes from abroad ( started of with a passion and now its a business)

well the first imported machine i rode was a small CBR 150, belive it or not when i sat on it i felt like it a cycle, the tank was so small and compact, front and rear disks, with a radiator and 6 speed transmission, and it moved very swiftly, it was faster that a karizma as well in a straight line, it had a body kit as well from the company, well when i engaged the bike in first and left the clutch it shot and was really fast, nice pick up, good handling and it had a nice small compact handle as well, infact i used the bike as well for over a month and was really happy with it, when i rode it day in and day out it would move fast and didnt have much difficulty in handling it at all, touched 145 max on it but didnt wanna go faster as it wasnt mien, technicall speaking i you cant call it a superbike as its less than 750 cc,

well here the real first expierience, he had this R6 ( ka registered ) he had just got and needed to be tuned as it was misfiring, he asked me to come along to drop if off t the garage and i asked him to ride the bike and to my suprise he gave the keys to me without thinking twice, i was shocked myself but happy as well, well i sat on the bike and he told me when you put in the key wait for the red light to go off and then start it off, well i started it and it sounded splendid, well as mentioned in this thread earlier that the seating arrangement is different as we have to bend down, i did get adjusted to the seating arrangement and engaged it in first gear and left the clutch and poomph it took a jerk and shut down cause i didnt have correct timing for the clutch release, again started it and this time with success i started moving, it felt real awesome to be moving on such a machine, slowly and steadily i was moving down the crowded streets, being careful for every cab near me, the feeling was awesome, although it was not in tip top condition i did go a bit fast , but belive me or not i was in third only for a few secs, i didn once rev it in forst and it shot like a bullet and then i got a little nervous so i slowed down, well that was my first ride and after that it has never stopped, quite a few ones i've riden but not long distances, always short distances.

Sorry for the lengthy boring explanation il come to the point,

tips for first timers:

1. Dont accelerate much, cause if accelerated even a bit more than required the bike will shoot and if not on an open road you might have a problem in stopping.

2. dont jam the rear brake cause beginners are used to indian bikes which have rear drum brakes while these machines have read disks which stop on the spot and if in a hurry you jam the rear brake it will result in a tyre lock and in skidding the bike,

3. open the throttle only on an open road cause these machines leap like a leopard jumping on it prey, ull soon find out that you have no more road in front of you.

4. First timers ride slowly till you get the hang of the machine like acceleration, handling, WEIGHT, braking.

5. V IMP: keep in mind the wieght of the machine, if your thin like me handling such a heavy machine for the first time will be a task cause these are heavr, i was once taking a U turn and it almost fell on one side due to the weight so please be careful and try not bending it in the beginning.

this is all i can think at the momemt.

Happy riding guys.

[zeeshan suleman]

Hey Rtech thats some really nice and information you have given us all, Appreciate all your efforts.

[GTO]

With this rule, any vehicle that costs less than US$40,000 would need to be homologated first before it is allowed to be registered. In essence what this means is that you would need to buy 3-4 vehicles of the same make & model and hand those over to ARAI to conduct theirs tests on.

If they want to dissuade the import of sedans cheaper than 18 Lac rupees ($40,000), I am in full support of it. We have almost every major manufacturer in India who are offering a very comprehensive range of cars in the 2L - 18L price band.

Its only when you start climbing up the price ladder that the options start thinning out. I think it makes sense to restrict the import of cars lower than $40,000. Mind you, I am not talking about bikes here.

This is why the TOR route is still, in reality, the only real way to bring a vehicle into India. For an individual that is.

Unless the car value is above $40,000?

[SohailPistawala]

Zeeshan Suleman, thank you very much for those tips.. appreciate...

Hey guys you all have been giving tips for the rider.... what about the pillion...can anyone highlight the same... like seating position.. and stuff... you see it will help guys like me... who are pillions...

All i know that my biker friend told me was to hold the tank and keep close with the riders back, cause the rider himself is bent down. the pickup on the 1st gear, on a SBK is soooooooo much different from the indian Bikes. GAWD .please put some light on the same too....

[zeeshan suleman]

Yeah Guys,

When sitting pillion make sure you bend over and catch the tank in such a way that a few fingers are on the surface of the tank and a few on the walls of the tank, ( i hope u understand wat i am trying to say ) , it wont be helpful if u catch the rider because when engaged in first and the bike takes off due to the force u feel like ur being pulled behind and will fall of any moment, trust me this happens to me always till date, you feel as if ur gonna fall of the bike and even ur fingers will start slipping off the tank making u wanna hold on even tighter, it may sound scary but trust me ull enjoy every moment of it, ull feel the adrenaline rush going trough.

just make u sit upright and dont move at all, cause if u move and when it speed it could be disastrous.

this always happens to me: when ever we stop at a signal and then due to bending all the time for a moment i leave me hands and when the signal says go during the pickup at times my hands are not back on the tank and my body leans backward, u need to try it to feel it, trust me and

when pillion on these bikes please dont do any backseat driving cause it requires a lot of concentration by the rider as these are big heavy machines, so any distractions would not be welcomed.

Hope this helps.

[Rtech]

If you sit pillion on a superbike, you're a braver man than I! But zeeshan has given some good pointers.

Most important, from the riders point of view, is that the pillion must never, NEVER, make any sudden moves or shift his weight or try and look over the side. This unsettles the bike in a huge way, and if it happens in a corner, you are simply asking for trouble.

Tips for the rider when carrying a pillion:
- Ride smooth. All actions are amplified for the pillion, so smoothness is the key to making your pillion feel safe.
- try to keep sudden bursts of acceleration to an absolute minimum (unless you are intentionally showing what the bike is capable off).
- same with braking. apply the brakes gently, slowly increasing the force. You will need to use more of the rear brake when carrying a pillion.