Online shopping and getting stuff into India (Customs)
Well it is an important question in the world of today, more and more Indians are purchasing stuff online and importing it into India. But the question most people ask is the same. What about the customs duty?
Well to be frank with you, anything you have bought abroad and are bringing into India is chargeable as far as custom duties go except some duty free items like IT Products (Digital Camera, LCD Monitors,RAM,Processors etc., confirm the list though).
Seasoned ebay sellers and other online stores try to ensure that loyal Indian customers aren’t forced to shed customs at all. Remember you don’t need an IEC number to import stuff for personal use.
Here is what most companies do so that you don’t have to pay customs for importing stuff into India :
1. They mark the product as a gift on the customs declaration form of the package. This is illegal by the way , but there is no way to detect whether the thing is a gift or not. Unless the other person leaves an invoice inside the so called gift 😛
2. Even after declaring the commodity as a gift, Indian customs will still charge it if the price is above Rs.10000 , so these ebay sellers under-declare the value of goods. This is a double edged sword, as if the product is stolen it would mean that you would not get the right price from insurance, so this can lead to losses.
Now both these steps do save duty to the importer, but you should realise they are probably illegal and be ready for consequences. Also keep in mind the more expensive the courier, the more closely the customs will examine your package. They know that EMS and DHL aren’t used for low value items, hence these packages are scrutinised more than others. On the same time Airmail and Registered Airmail is more prone to theft especially in India.
Now the fact is most genuine importers don’t mind paying a little duty on the products they are importing into India, but the customs are so notorious that most try to circumvent them, because they know if their package is caught by Indian customs, there will be a lot more paying up to do! Also if you are importing in bulk and you don’t have an IEC, you are in big trouble.
Another question people have is what happens if the customs find your item chargeable, dont 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. In case you have questions, feel free to ask via comments. Also this is not legal advice, hire a lawyer if you need legal advice.
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@Utkarsh -Technically you will hahve to pay duty, keep the lesser priced invoice.
@Shubham – These cards are actually against FEMA in my knowledge,so be careful.
Had ordered headphone worth $32 (18$ price and remaining shipping cost)
Was delievered through Priority Mail (united states postal service), took around 20 days but reached properly.
No extra money to be paid or no other hassle …
just sent a laptop to my sister in india, declared value is 200$ & insurance is 5$ & fright is 37$, marked as gift . will it be charged as 242$ aka CIF value minus
INR 10K. whatever value cutoms at 24.44%,
please advice
also i sent item via DHL who did not provide custom declaration form but it wrote gift on the packet, gift in the packing list and also the driver who collected it wrote gift in the list of contents
plz advice
my uncle is in USA he is going to bring me i phone 4g will he be charged from customs
sorry cost i put is 300$
Hello,
I am planning to buy a used electronic synth instrument (keyboard or module) , from eBay US or other Int’l site, worth about $250.
What would be the customs duty on used electronic musical instrumets?
Any idea?
Hi,
I’ve ordered two pairs of shoes cost around Rs. 11,000 today, will i have to pay duties for that?? I didn’t read anything and completed the order, but now i come to know that people are having problem importing products for personal use also 🙁
What will i have to go through with incase?
Your advise will be appreciated.
i import pigeon from india to pakistan what is a procedgure about it
hi,, i want to buy some bodybuilding supplement from u.s.a. around (Rs.3000 to 5000 approx), how much tax i hv to pay and where i have to pay ? please tell me i’m waiting for your reply. THANK U 🙂
i want to buy a used camcoder priced 70000 rs. frm ebay uk for personal use . want to know if its chargable for customs & hw much they will charge . hw can i reduce these charges .. plz advise
Hi
I purchased 5 collectible pins of the beijing olympics 2008 Mascots from ebay.com. The total cost including shipping is 25 USD. The pins will be sent from china, are classified as “new”, and are not marked as a “gift”.I want to know whether duties will be levied on it. The seller is sending the product via Economy Int’l Shipping. Is the company reliable and is there any chance for the product to go missing?
Hi, I am studying in india currently, i read in the previous post that digital camera are freely charged from duties and taxes, is it true? I am planning to buy and shipped one from B&H, a camera store in USA, it stated that by UPS, i can get it around 7 days, will it get stuck somewhere in Mumbai? Thanks so much!!
regards, syin
hi
I am planning to buy a Guitar processor from Amazon.com.
It is worth 200$.
How much duty will i have to pay for this ??
HI JM
Did you get your supplements? and were you charged any customes duty when you odered from bodybuiliding. pelase reply as i want to buy a supplement which is not avialable in india
@Tajinder When you purchase from Amazon and choose “Priority Shipping” they will automatically charge you for the customs duty too. For 200 bucks I think they will charge you about 40 to 50 bucks as customs. So, you dont have to pay any customs duty in cash when it reaches India. I have shipped a few times to my family in India, from Amazon, they got the packages within 5 to 7 days and didnt have to pay tax. Hope that helps your queries mate.. Cheers
hi i ordered a banded bag online for rs 1lakh to india ….ups is the carrier ..will i be charged any import duty…if yes what amt and the customer care of the store told that duty was included…
i purchased 4 used watches via ebay
sent via usps priority
stuck at customs now
Retention reason : Prohibited articles
pls help
i order a watch from a hongkong site for indian rs 8000 . they shipped the watch to india thru ems .. they send me the tracking number also for the watch .. it reached india and went to customs thats wat its showing in tracking record ..
i want to ask will i have to pay the duty for my watch if its under 10000 rs .
how long will it take for customs to realise my parcel ? how can i contact them ?
and if i have to pay duty , how much will be the duty ?
i dont know the if they have send as a gift or a purchase from indianj customer ?
plz help me out !
hi there
i have ordered an 88$ worth clothing items from china.
how much customs duty do i have to pay at the time of receiving the articles.
Hi!
This is M. A. Khan i Purchased A Recent release laptop on Ebay from USA and ask for the delivery in India with UPS well the seller Provide me Tracking id too but when i tracked the Product after reaching Indian Customs on 24 July 2011, Tracking id could not update it as it shows still in Indian Customs Custody.
My Question is the product i purchased is Already high configuration and not available in Indian market so its obviously high Price. Now what should i do wait ? how do i know where is laptop landed i mean which city customs is holding my product as i don’t want to lose it and what shall be the customs charges do i have to pay and whether they will contact me as its almost nearly one month and i am still waiting.
Even though i have Tracking id i cannot do anything now. so whom should i contact now. Please provide me proper guidance.
I purchassed ‘ Nikon binocular from amazon.com for personal use. the amount of binocular is $ 139.95
shipping $43.50 total $183.45 . Now the product is in chennai caustoms.They asked commercial invoice. price list and IEC code. but i have no IEC code. how much amount i should pay for import taxes, custom duties and fees.
Hi,
I am planning to buy DSLR Nikon D5100 with 18-55mm lens which will cost AU $738.00, the seller is charging me AU $3.00 Standard Int’l Shipping.
Is the shipping method OK to go with?
Will there be any duty on this item if sent with GIFT label?
What do you suggest?
Regards,
Uday
@M A Khan Provide the tracking number mate and I might be able to locate which city its stuck in.
i want to buy and earphone for my phone through ebay. the item location is in hongkong and the seller says as free international shipping and the cost of the item is £13(around 600INR). will it be delivered with any problem from the customs and should i believe in the sellerand he is 99.1%positive feedback.
please advice me
I am planning to buy a Canon slr camera lens (500mm f4). The price is abt $3500 for a used lens. It is not a new lens, and has been used for abt 2 years by the seller. Now i need to courier to India. the price of a new lens in a US store wud be abt $7500. If i ask one of my friends to buy it and courier it to me, wud i have to pay a duty. also can anyone tell me wt wud be the total cost for courier and duty. Thanks a ton:-)
I have been a frequent purchaser of makeup and skin care products from strawberrynet.com Hong Kong who always mark their commodities as “gift” and send. I have lost many of my parcels because of this but I have also duly paid custom duty whenever I have been charged for it.
Please tell me ways to find out my lost parcels and whom should I contact.
Thanks
Also the tracking number of my product is RR442634022 in case any one helps
Can any one reply to Comment # 520
@ M A Khan:
Hi! Try to call up UPS (courier) company and check with them.
I once ordered a tablet from China to Chennai (Madras) and it came through DHL. The DHL folks charged me 1750 as customs duty and took money from me while delivering (Tablet Cost – Rs 5000).
My brother is getting me an iPhone4 from the US. He’ll be carrying his own iPhone + mine on himself. If he has activated simcards on both the phones will it be liable to customs. He is an Indian Citizen in US for studies. Thanks in advance.
Great blog!
I am hoping to import a few gold currency coins like Krugerrands, Golden Eagles, or Maple Leafs. I want to do this not through baggage. Also, I want to do it legally. I will call the usual suspects (DHL and ?), but I doubt they’ll help me. Are there companies who help me import items?
I recently ordered a HP laptop worth $978 and a camera worth $119.So I’ll be importing it from USA to india.
What will be the customs duty that i should pay?
Im using DHL or FedEx to import here.
i want to get 47 inch tv from us for personal use. TV is much cheaper in US than INDIA and both NTSC AND PAL compatible,
What is the stamp duty on this?
which is the best way of getting it into india.
Hello Wisetech,
I am buying Blackberry cell phones from USA. They say I dont have to pay anything in advance and they will deliver mobiles in 5 business days and once I receive it I can check then pay. They will deliver it by DHL, UPS, USPS.
But will I get in trouble if I keep ordering ? Do Customs will know and will I have to Pay anything ?
hi,
i want to purchase a china mobile around 5000rs from CHINA throgh EMS plz tell what may be the custom duty charges how to pay it, can i pay it when i recieved it
plz help
Rakesh,
Yeah TVs are much cheaper in US. As far as I know, The goods over and above the free allowances of 25K shall be chargeable at 35% customs duty
If you take it when you Return to India for Good, you will pay only 15% duty under Transfer of Residence.
Lets say you bought a TV costing 35000 Indian Rupees and you have other Rs 10000 worth of duty items. So total Cost will be 35K + 10K = 45K. Out of this 25K is free allowances so you will end up paying duty on 20K (i.e. 30% on this 20K)
My personal suggestion is that you can go for it, I am also looking to import a 47 inch LG LED TV from US which is 51K compared to 1.44 Lacks in India. even if they charge you 30% on the total amount, you will save a lot for sure 😉
Drop me an email so that we can discuss this further or let me know if you get any additional update as I am also planning to get one from US.
Rakesh,
Sorry for the typo, please make note that its 35% (mentioned 30% at some places) 🙂
My brother is getting me an iPhone4 from the US. He’ll be carrying his own iPhone + mine on himself. If he has activated simcards on both the phones will it be liable to customs. He is an Indian Citizen in US for studies. Thanks in advance.
Hi i’ve read almost all of the comments and the more i read, the more nervous I’m getting. I’d ordered a polaroid camera from US with its film. Its cost is around $160 and it is being shipped for around $225 because of expedited shipping charges applied. It is supposed to reach by 12th Sept. The seller has sent it via USPS (US postal service) Will i ever get to see it?! or did i kiss my 10.6k goodbye! 🙁
I’ve ordered through Amazon.com
I dont think he will be liable for duty unless he gets it in original box.
Hi,
I have purchased a couple of craft items like a glue gun, marker pen, etc (cost of product ranges from $3 to $15…The tracking number provided by seller is of USPS and DHL Global… It has been more than 2 months since i ordered the products…But recently, i found the USPs customs declaration form (with the tracking number) of the products in my mailbox..However, there is no other information provided by customs or the post office…Does it mean that i need to pay customs duty to collect the products…if yes, then how and where do we pay the duty…
Thanks a lot… 🙂
I want to buy products from china like laptop bads, iphone covers & etc. which would cost me less that $50. Would i be required to pay the import duty by customs? Please tell me!
how much custom duties charge if i order bodybuilding supplements from UK to INDIA ?
i have ordered tablet worth $267 from ebay usa. will it attract custom duty?
JUST PURCHASED ACORN STEAMER FROM CHINA FOR $103..IT IS STUC IN DEL CUSTOM FOR THE LAST 10 DAYS NOW..NO LETTER RECEIVED …WHAT SHOULD I DO..IT WAS SENT BY EMS..CAN SOMEONE ADVICE
Just sent some samples of industrial materials (textile products and articles for technical use) with Fedex. I enclosed a commercial invoice of US$60 value with a note that the goods are samples and have no commercial value but then the recepient told me they still had to pay custom duty of 3200ruppee.
Will a proforma invoice help with custom tax in the future?
Thank you for the advice…
Hi
I was wondering that if i purchase [fibre] FRP body kits for a vehicle from Sri Lanka via there parent site in US. the quote is for 1650 USD.
what will be the outcome as i am new to this. also the payment mode and bank provided as well as factory is of Sri Lanka only.
Kindly Advice
Regards
Hi WiseTechie,
I have ordered a laptop from BH PHOTO & VIDEO. Cost is approximately 1300 dollars which will be shipped through UPS. I have ordered through my Company…in the sense the name of my company is there on the purchase invoice and we have an IEC code. Will this cause problems in customs. Though it for personal use I ordered through company as we have an IEC code and also to prevent customs from levying any additional penalties and duties as they always do on laptops and other imported items.
And what will the approx custom duty be…according to my information it is about 15%.
Sidd
up to what value(money) we can import to india with iec code,can you refer me which way is the best way to import bulk goods to chennai port,and explain me the procedure.
I have just ordered shoes from prodirectsoccer.com for 32 pounds (2500 rs). Am i liable to customs?