After buying different product from counties like China, Hongkong and U.S.A still I have one question every time I buy a product from other country.'Will I be charged for custom duty or not?But the truth is not even the experts can say whether you will be charged for customs or not.
Well as per the rules anything that is brought from abroad is chargeable, as far as custom duties go except some duty free items like IT Products(Digital Camera, RAM ,Processors, psu .reconfirm the list though)
Many companies and online seller like from ebay, aliexpress will get ready to help you out. To save the custom duty.
So the big question how to save your product from customs duty?
Here is what most companies do so that you don’t have to pay customs for importing in india.
The most common answer would be mark the product as a gift on the customs declaration form of the package. This is not legal by the way, but there is no way or tool to detect whether the product is a gift or not. Unless and until the other person kept's an invoice inside the package .
Even if the product is declared as a gift it does not mean that you won't be charged for customs. If the price of the product is above rs 10,000 you are going to be charged for customs, hence most of the companies and seller would declare the value of goods as low as they can, mostly somewhere to 5$ to 40$. But this can also risk your product safety, as if the product is stolen and lost the insurance company(if insured) will not pay you the right price.(It is important to check with the seller or the company about declaration ) Below is the example how customs form look like.
Now the two steps can help you save custom duty, but its also illegal and can backfire as well. If the customs officer realizes the product value is more than its declaration you will be charged penalty as well. It is important to remember the more expensive courier company you choose the chances are more to attract the customs officers(companies like fedex and DHL). But on the other hand registered airmail is prone to theft especially in india.
Remember the most important thing, never import anything without a tracking no.
Also remember post office is completely different from customs and, hence they will only collect the duty if the customs have charged you and they can't help you at all with the chargeable amount.
They might not even send the package at home. Rather they will send an intimation stating' Your tracking number, the amount payable, and the time period you can get collect the product from post office"(generally in 3 to 5 days in morning)
Also remember, if you pay the custom duty and the product has any defect and you want to ship it back, you won't get any amount return from customs.
What are the signs of incoming custom duty?
If the tracking information states.
Record item customs information(Inb), Retention reason: Articles importation subject to restrictions import- license
You should probably get ready to pay the custom duty. Another question people have is what happens if the customs find your item chargeable?
Don't worry no one will send you to jail unless you are importing prohibited stuff. If your item is found chargeable, your package will be seized by customs and you will be sent a letter usually asking you for purpose of import etc. Be truthful while replying. If customs are satisfied with your reply, then they will calculate the appropriate customs duty and send the postman to your home who collects the duty and delivers your shipment. As easy as that. There is a small fine too for mis-declarations. Frequent mis-declarations will get you in trouble though. So be on the right side of the law. 2. What if I am charged too much or charged wrongly?
You need to pay the custom duty first if the product have reached the post office, if it is held with customs then you need to contact them and can even negotiate directly. 3. What if I want to send the product back to the seller?
The most important thing is, the package should already be cleared and should be with post office. If the product is held with customs then there is no way else then to pay the duty, or they might auction your product if unclaimed
First talk to the seller and confirm whether he is ready to take back the product or not?
Then think logically.
firstly you have already paid the exchange rate and if the amount is refunded you will again be charged for exchange rate irrespective whether the traction is successful or not!
secondly you need to wait for somewhere 25 to 40 days from when the product have reached the post office.
Also if the product is shipped back by the post office there is no guarantee that the product will be recorded in tracking as well.
Also remember if the payment is done through Paypal then you can't even claim for the non receipt of the product or refund after 45 days.(log in to Paypal to contact them) Is there any way to find out the custom duty applicable for my package?
To be very frank, No there isn't a single way to find out applicable duty. As the duty might be anything near to 25 to 40%. In some of my cases the duty was very low as well for example when I brought two tablet from china at the cost of 150 dollars each I was only charged 600 rupees. And the shipment was done via fed-ex.
On the other hand sometimes I haven't even been charged any custom duty, for example, when I brought a mobile from china. And the price of the product was 8000, and the shipping was done through registered airmail. I was charged 4200/- however I never paid that amount as my product was with post office and I told them to send it back. After 40 days the product was visible in tracking'As returned'.
Even as in some cases you might even get a notice from customs department and will request you to send relevant documents as well.
Customs can be unpredictable as most of the cases never match to one another.
Your package can evading the duty many a times with registered mail, but it can also be stolen, lost and something else could happen to it, as this is India. What if I brought a used product? What kind of custom duty will be applied?
The customs department don't care whether the product is used or not!
They will still charge you as for a brand new product. I want to buy a refurbished product?
again the duty will be applied as a new product.
There is no option to write the condition of the product in the declaration form. How to get in touch with customs department?
Google it or use just dial.
every state has a different phone no. What are risk involved in importing products?
The most biggest problem is customs.
You need to pay the duty first before they won't let you open the package.
If the product is broken and sent back you won't get duty refunded.
If the seller replaces the product and sends you new one, then to there is no guarantee the product will be duty free this time. That means you might have to pay duty two time.
Not choosing the expensive courier company may incure loss of product. And choosing them would almost guarantee a custom duty plus brokerage fee. Which might be huge as well. Isn't there a single way to save custom duty? what if the quantity is low as well?
Yes there is one way, if you have any contact abroad who can bring the phone with him/her. Then its possible to evade the duty
But don't get to excited as if the product is above 12,000 you might be charged. After reading all this I don't want to risk it?
If your not confident enough or don't want the risk you should probably buy the product from India itself, as 90% when duty is applied the product cost goes above the price in india.
You should always double check eBay before buying any product from abroad. All right I don't want to buy from abroad, but I already made the transaction?
Don't worry just talk to the seller, most seller will get ready to refund your amount. But you might have to pay them some compensation. Just make a sensible offer.
You would still be charged two times for money exchange. Any wear near to 3%. I want to cancel the transaction but its already shipped?
Then there is no way except to wait for the product. My product is waiting at customs department from a long time?
The first thing you need is patience, as the status might show it there for 2 days to even 4 weeks.
Remember if you get to desperate about the delivery of the product and you contact them very early then they might charge you lot higher.
Just wait for the time they will forward it surely, or you will receive a notification.
If its more than 3 weeks, then you should contact them. Ok now the product has reached post office and I received the intimation?
Just visit the post office, with the money, also carry the imitation card, plus an identity proof.(pan-card, aadhar card). What is the maximum time I can get the product back?
If the product is detained by customs department, you should probably get it cleared as soon as you receive the imitation.
But if the product is with post office then you have 3 to 5 days I had even claimed for the product after a month and still got it. I received the product and its damaged?
Firstly if the product is insured only then you will get your money back
Also the declaration value of the product should be right, or else you might not get the right amount
Post office won't take any liability on this neither the customs department but always try to contact them, may be you might get something out of it! How to claim a warranty for a product brought from abroad.
Many companies and sellers from abroad might provide one year warranty.
But again the customs declaration form doesn't have any option for it.
Hence its recommended first try to get it resolved in India itself.
Even most of the abroad companies will not pay for shipping, and you have to pay for either one side or, both.
Its important to check the warranty information before buying. The final question. Should I buy any thing from abroad?
Its always an double edge sword, a person not having correct knowledge might get into lot of trouble.
Even there is not a lot of information available online, and people are always not sure of what they are talking about customs.
The decision whether to buy from abroad lies upon you, if your willing to take the risk you might get the fruits as well.
Remember You might not always have to pay customs. Thank you for reading.
Remember this is not legal advice.
hire a lawyer if you need legal advice. Feel free to comment.
