[Nitin]

Originally Posted by viper9999

Ye, but its not the same. Its like an attachment with this one....babied it since day one, I'm used to this bike. And moreover, I have some custom mods, and may not be possible to get these mods in India. another reason it makes it all the more difficult to part with :(

For TR, what is the documentation required ? Is it just signing a affidavit with the customs in India with a address change ? Anyone gone through this process ?

I guess everyone understand the attachment with a set of wheels thats been cared for. Do post pictures of your bike(s) in a separate thread.

Any idea how the situation is, with the crackdown? Any more bikes impounded?

[viper9999]

Originally Posted by Nitin

I guess everyone understand the attachment with a set of wheels thats been cared for. Do post pictures of your bike(s) in a separate thread.

sure, will try and post some pics soon !

[EagleRider]

Hi,

My company is planning on importing a couple of Harley Davidson motorcycles. Appreciate answers from experienced folks on this board for the following queries in Italics.


1. EC Type Approval Certificate / Certificate of COP, of an accredited
agency from any member state of EU, including a notarized English
translation thereof, shall be furnished. This Type Approval shall stipulate
that the vehicle to be imported meets the technical requirements of all
relevant separate directives, as last amended and as listed in EU Directive
2002/24/EC. Such imported motorcycles shall meet the EURO III emission norms as defined in EU Directive 2003/77/EC - How do I get this? how much will it cost? How much time does it take it get it done?

2. - (from this website -http://www.infodriveindia.com/Exim/Guides/How-To-Import/Ch_16_Impor_of_Cars_Vehicle_Commerical_and_Non_Com mercial.aspx#Import_of_New_Vehicles_)

Testing of Imported Vehicles - After import it is necessary to submit the imported vehicle to Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE), Ahmednagar, of the Ministry of Defence or the Automotive Research Association of India, Pune or the Central Farm and Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Budni, Madhya Pradesh, or other notified testing agency authorised by the Indian Government . Does this apply to us -a pvt ltd co and not a vehicle/auto-component manufacture.




3. be imported from the country of manufacture. -
What if I want to bring it down from a nearby country, say Singapore, UAE, UK etc.

4. Lastly i am looking for a customs house agent that has experience in importing brand new automobiles, would appreciate a number and name of the agency.

Thanks

EagleRider

[manson]

Sorry about the delayed reply Eagle, been a little tied up with work.

I am not exactly certain, but I doubt your query nos. 1 & 2 would be applicable in your case which is a private import. If the bikes are brought into thew country as fully built units you will mostly not have to go through these formailities unless you are import a really large number of those.

Coming to query no. 3, again for a private import I doubt country of origin would need to be country of manafacture. Infact even Yamaha India sells R1s which are brought down from Australia, and Honda sells the CB1000 R which is manafactured in Italy.

Query no. 4: Any able clearing and forwarding house should be able to clear the cargo if your company is willing to pay the duty as per the rules. It really isnt as big a hassle to clear a consignment. Post that you will need a good R.T.O. agent who can register the bikes for you.
One thing you should know, the road tax applicable on an imported vehicle is 21% of the total value of the bike+shipping+import duty+octroi duty if applicable. Usually domestic vehicles carry a road tax of about 7% odd on their invoice value.

Hope that helps.

manson.

[EagleRider]

Manson, much appreciate your response.

Point number 1 and 3 came to me from a global freight forwarding agencies office in India. So i just took them at face value.

I had no idea that road tax is such a huge component of the overall cost. thanks for this input.

EagleRider

Originally Posted by manson

Sorry about the delayed reply Eagle, been a little tied up with work.

I am not exactly certain, but I doubt your query nos. 1 & 2 would be applicable in your case which is a private import. If the bikes are brought into thew country as fully built units you will mostly not have to go through these formailities unless you are import a really large number of those.

Coming to query no. 3, again for a private import I doubt country of origin would need to be country of manafacture. Infact even Yamaha India sells R1s which are brought down from Australia, and Honda sells the CB1000 R which is manafactured in Italy.

Query no. 4: Any able clearing and forwarding house should be able to clear the cargo if your company is willing to pay the duty as per the rules. It really isnt as big a hassle to clear a consignment. Post that you will need a good R.T.O. agent who can register the bikes for you.
One thing you should know, the road tax applicable on an imported vehicle is 21% of the total value of the bike+shipping+import duty+octroi duty if applicable. Usually domestic vehicles carry a road tax of about 7% odd on their invoice value.

Hope that helps.

manson.

[prabhuav]

Eagle,
Why bother? HD is already in India. They have a couple of dozen bikes down here already with the company. I believe that you should be able to pick them up faster.

Vijay

[shrini78]

For whoever is in USA and who are planning to import or even thinking of importing to India these are the rules and they are latest. One of relative works in Chennai customs and he gave me this valuable info

Current import rules for bikes say that you must have owned the bike for more than one year prior to shipping or prior to your departure from the US (whichever is earlier). You must also be eligible for TR to be waived from the import license requirement.

If the title is in your name for over a year, you must carry the original title, vehicle registrations, insurance policies, purchase invoice, and any and all records of the bike to show to customs in India.

Shipping from the US to Chennai is not a problem, but the main thing is to comply with Indian customs requirements. Current import duty is approx 145% (depreciated value).

The definition of of a new bike is "one which has not been sold, leased prior to its import into India nor registered for use in any country prior to its import into India."

If you have already bought the bike and registered it in the US, it becomes used.As I mentioned, earlier, import of new bikes is not allowed under TR.

Depreciation is calculated by customs like this:

4.0 % per quarter in the 1st year x 4 quarters = 16% total
3.0 % per quarter in the 2nd year x 4 quarters = 12% total
2.5 % per quarter in the 3rd year x 4 quarters = 10% total
2.0 % per quarter in the 4th year x 4 quarters = 08% total
2.0 % per quarter in the 5th year x 4 quarters = 08% total
2.0 % per quarter in the 6th year x 4 quarters = 08% total
2.0 % per quarter in the 7th year x 4 quarters = 08% total

TOTAL = 70% depreciation


I hope this helps for everyone...who is thinking or dreaming of importing a bike under TR

[arun_prakash21]

Yes, the above info seem to be "unfortunately" true! :(
Initially when I saw this thread I was so happy that I don't have to shell out so much at customs. But now I'm trying to ship my cbr from germany to india and this is the info I get everywhere!

[vivekiny2k]

Do I need to be concerned about the engine capacity or any other technicalities while buying a motorcycle in USA if I intent to bring it down to India (possibly, sometime later)?

I am leaning towards sport or dual sport models for now, in stark contrast with cruiser I had earlier in my mind.

[shrini78]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

Do I need to be concerned about the engine capacity or any other technicalities while buying a motorcycle in USA if I intent to bring it down to India (possibly, sometime later)?

I am leaning towards sport or dual sport models for now, in stark contrast with cruiser I had earlier in my mind.

Get a cruiser man, especially a HD if u can afford....
I guess with so much traffic there is no point drivin a super sport/hyper sport models coz you aint gonna hit the red range in rpm..
Better you can cruise the beautiful indian backroads on a cruiser

[straight6]

There's no problem with the capacity of the engine if you're getting it on TR. I would suggest you bring down a 600cc sportbike. They are ideal for the city and also on a Sunday morning ride.

[manson]

That 600 being more ideal between in traffic is purely a myth S6.
Practically, barring the slightly larger frame a liter class would be more fun in traffic, more power in the lower rpm range which lands you into the powerband almost immediately than having to revv the tits out of the 600 (especially the new stuff) to get into the 'fun' mode.

manson.

[straight6]

Originally Posted by manson

That 600 being more ideal between in traffic is purely a myth S6.
Practically, barring the slightly larger frame a liter class would be more fun in traffic, more power in the lower rpm range which lands you into the powerband almost immediately than having to revv the tits out of the 600 (especially the new stuff) to get into the 'fun' mode.

manson.

Since he's importing one, it makes sense to get a 600. The 1000's are available here unless he specifically wants a colour scheme that isn't available here or the 10R.

You're comparing the power of a 600 to a 1000 but lets not forget that even a 600 is plenty powerful and has enough torque for our traffic. Also, 600's don't heat up like the 1000's in our traffic. I'm yet to see a 600 puking out coolant in traffic .

[manson]

Originally Posted by straight6

Since he's importing one, it makes sense to get a 600. The 1000's are available here unless he specifically wants a colour scheme that isn't available here or the 10R.

All the more reason for him not to pay a premium to the greedy Indian subsidiaries of the Japanese majors.

Originally Posted by straight6

You're comparing the power of a 600 to a 1000 but lets not forget that even a 600 is plenty powerful and has enough torque for our traffic. Also, 600's don't heat up like the 1000's in our traffic. I'm yet to see a 600 puking out coolant in traffic .

In the city traffic you afre most likely going to be hovering around the 200 - 4500 rpm range, the 600s have a lot of power, but that is at a much higher point in the rpm range compared to any liter class bike which would pull right from the bottom.
And, additonally I have seen 600's spill coolant in regular traffic. And, I have also ridden along with a 600 to town and back and both our bikes indicated similar temperatures on a couple of points when I checked with him.

Before we discuss this any futher, Vivek what bike are you intending to purchase in the first place?

manson.

[vivekiny2k]

sorry guys, lost track of this thread, just bought a beetle for the wife last week and was busy playing with it

anyway, I test rode this yesterday (boulevard C50, 800CC), now I know why people say get a smaller bike first. I thought I could handle anything, didn't realize it was because of footprint/weight, and not just power. This thing was heavy. I felt intimidated just like i did on my first bullet ride, but I think I can handle it. still thinking about it. Another problem is my inclined driveway where parking/unparking it will be an ordeal.




I will most probably get a cruiser since I intent to do some long drives. But I have to say I have also looked lustily at some dirtbikes/dual sports . I am trying to avoid sport bikes first because of uncomfortable jolts they might give on accelerating, unintended wheelies etc. Not interested in that. second, with my wife as pillion, riding long distances will be difficult. But who knows, I might pick up one.


the import is a sort of backup plan, after I complete my MBA, I will see if I want to move back to india, still 2.5 yrs to go.