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DUTY FREE QUERIES
Q. What is the duty free allowance available to an incoming passenger? Each adult passenger is allowed to import Rs. 12000/- equivalent of goods free of duty into India if your stay abroad exceeds 3 days. If it is less than 3 days, the allowance is Rs. 6000/-. Back Q. What happens to the goods imported that exceed the free allowance limit? On the goods that exceed the above duty free limit, customs duty @ 60 % has to be paid on the excess goods. Back Q. If I do not have any dutiable goods on arrival, can I use my free allowance for goods, which are coming as unaccompanied baggage? No. The duty free allowance of Rs. 12000/- is available for consumption only at the arrival. It cannot be used for any unaccompanied baggage shipment coming via air or Sea freight. Back Q. Do I need to obtain a landing certificate if I am expecting a shipment of Personal Effects and Household Goods as unaccompanied baggage? No. Landing Certificates are no longer issued nor required for clearance of a household goods shipment as unaccompanied baggage. LC is issued only if your accompanied baggage has been mishandled by the airline and cannot be located by you on arrival. Back Q. What are the allowances for minors? Duty free allowance for minors is Rs. 3000/- if the stay abroad is more than 3 days. If the stay is less than 3 days, the allowance is Rs. 1500/- Back Q. If I have stayed abroad and was working abroad for more than 3 months, what additional allowances are allowed to me? If you are coming to India after a stay abroad of more than 3 months, you can import used household articles namely Linen, Utensils, Tableware, Kitchen appliances and Iron can be imported free of duty up to the value of Rs. 6000/- Back Q. What are the allowances for import of professional equipment? A passenger who was engaged in his profession abroad for over three months may be allowed to import free of duty his professional equipment free of duty up to a value of Rs. 10,000/- A passenger who was engaged in his profession abroad for over six months may be allowed to import free of duty his professional equipment free of duty up to a value of Rs. 20,000/- Professional Equipment means such portable equipment, instruments, apparatus and appliances as are required in his profession by a carpenter, a plumber, a welder, a mason and the like and shall not include items of common use such as cameras, cassette recorders, dicta-phones, personal computers, typewriters and other similar articles. Back Q. If I have stayed abroad and was working abroad for more than 6 months, what additional allowances are allowed to me? If you are coming to India after a stay abroad of more than 3 months, you can import used household articles namely Linen, Utensils, Tableware, Kitchen appliances and Iron can be imported free of duty up to the value of Rs. 6000/- A passenger who was engaged in his profession abroad for over six months may be allowed to import free of duty his professional equipment free of duty up to a value of Rs. 20,000/-. Back Q. If I have stayed abroad for more than 12 months, what additional allowances are allowed to me? Persons who have stayed abroad at least 365 days in the preceding 2 years and on termination of employment can import goods worth Rs. 30,000/- free of duty provided these goods are owned and used by the importer or his family for at least 6 months. However, items appearing in Annexure I & II will attract duty. Such facility is allowed to you only once in 3 years. Back Q. If I have stayed abroad for more than 2 years, what additional allowances are allowed to me? If you have stayed abroad for more than 2 years and are returning to India on a Transfer of residence, all your used personal effects and household goods can be imported free of duty. However, items appearing in Annexure I & II will attract duty. Such facility is allowed to you only once in 3 years. Back IMPORT OF GOLD, SILVER, JEWELRY Q. Can I import gold into India Non Resident Indian / Foreign National of Indian Origin (PIO) can import gold in any form up to 10 kilos at a time provided he is coming to India after 6 months of stay abroad. Duty is payable @ Rs. 400/- per 10 grams in convertible foreign exchange. Back Q. Can I import silver into India? A Non Resident Indian can import silver in any form up to 100 kilos at a time provided he is coming to India after 6 months stay abroad. Duty is payable @ Rs. 500/-per Kg. Back Q. Can I import jewelry into India? A passenger who has been residing abroad for over one year and is returning to India may be allowed to import duty free, jewelry in his use up to a value of Rs. 10,000 in case of a male passenger and Rs. 20,000 in case of a female passenger. Import of jewelry in excess of this value will be charged to duty. Back SHIPMENT OF GOODS
Q. Do I have to pay any customs duty on import of personal effects and household goods into India? Personal effects such as used clothes, shoes, books, bedding, blanket etc are allowed to be imported free of duty to any passenger whether the same is imported along with the passenger or as unaccompanied baggage shipment. Other articles are dutiable if they exceed the duty free allowances. Back Q. What are the conditions to be fulfilled in order to claim Transfer of Residence concessions? (What are the eligibility criteria?) Any person who has lived abroad for more than two years is eligible for Transfer of Residence concessions. However, certain conditions apply. In the last two years, such person must not have visited India for more than six months. Goods must also be shipped out within a month after of the arrival of the passenger into India or one month prior to arrival into India. Back Q. Can a housewife claims Transfer of Residence concessions? Yes even a housewife can claim Transfer of Residence Concessions if she fulfils the other eligibility criteria. Back Q. What are the requirements that a foreign national has to fulfill if he is coming to India on employment and has his Personal Effects and Household Goods shipment coming in to India? A foreign national has the same duty concessions available as to a returning Non resident Indian. If the FN is coming to India on employment, his household goods will be cleared free of customs duty. However items contained in Annexure I & II will not be cleared free of duty. Back Q. What are the items in Annexure I & II ? Annexure I:
Transfer of Residence concessions are available to a family as a whole and individual members of the same family cannot claim separate concessions. Only one member of the family can claim such concessions. Back Q. Will I have to stay in India compulsorily for any length of time after claiming Transfer of Residence concessions? Earlier a person claiming Transfer of Residence concessions had to stay in India for a minimum period of one year. However, with the new Baggage Rules 1998, such condition is not put on such persons. Back Q. Do I have to pay any customs duty on old and used Personal Effects and Household Goods? If claiming transfer of residence concessions, no duty is to be paid on old and used personal effects and household goods except on those items that appear in the Annexure II. Back Q. Why do I have to pay import duty on major electronic appliances even if they have been used? Most major electronic appliances figure in the Annexure II of Baggage Rules, 1998 and have been specifically mentioned that these items cannot be cleared free of duty. If such items are used, allowance for depreciation can be claimed from the customs authorities. Back Q. Can I bring more than one items of Annexure II and claim a concession on both? No. The concessional rate of duty is applicable on only one item. In case you bring two televisions or two air conditioners etc., you have to pay the concessional rate of duty (35.2%) on the first piece and the normal rate of duty on the second piece (61.2%) Q. Is there any value limit to the amount of goods that can be imported on a TR? A. For items appearing in the Annexure II, you are allowed to import goods up to a limit of Rs. 150,000/- (US $ 3500/-) only. If your goods exceed this limit, then you will have to pay the normal rate of duty on the excess evaluation. The aggregate value of all goods imported should not exceed this limit if you want to pay only the concessional rate of duty. Back Q. What documents are required for clearing a shipment through customs? The importers original passport(s), original bill of lading (duly endorsed on reverse), original delivery order (duly endorsed on reverse), detailed packing list showing make, model number, quantity, year of purchase and value of each items, purchase receipts for the major items are required for clearing a shipment through customs. Back Q. Is my presence required during customs clearance? Yes, an importer's presence is generally required during customs clearance to answer any questions that the customs authorities may have regarding the ownership or usage of a particular item being imported. Also, the customs requires the importer to sign certain forms in the presence of the customs officer and they would like to examine the goods only in the presence of the importer. Back Q. Is there any way that I can clear my goods without my presence? Yes, Under exceptional cases, the goods may be cleared without your personal presence, if a power of attorney is given to your friend, relative etc. and certain customs forms are duly notarized or attested by a Gazetted officer of the Customs or Central Excise dept. However, the permission depends on Custom authorities Back Q. What is the procedure to be followed once the goods land at any Indian port or airport? After arrival at any Indian port, goods are generally de-stuffed from the container (LCL shipments) and then moved to the customs warehouse for the clearance. FCL containers are directly placed outside the customs warehouse and have to be de-stuffed here, or direct delivery can be obtained from the container or even the loaded container can be taken to the residence for delivery (only some cities/ports). Back Q. Will the customs officials open and check every package? Custom's officials are normally supposed to open and inspect each package. However sometimes, they open 10%-20% of packages at random if a proper packing list (package wise and prepared by professional packing & moving companies) and if they find things as per the declaration and packing list, they may not open everything. Back Q. Are my goods safe while they are lying in the port? All over the world, ports are noted for pilferage, rough handling of goods and theft. Indian ports are equally susceptible. Therefore, we recommend that you crate the goods or use liftvans where possible. Hence, we recommend that all high value goods and electronic items should be crated or loaded in liftvans. Back Q. Should I have my goods shipped in liftvans (wooden crates) or load them loose in the steamship container? Although we always suggest usage of liftvans, sometimes it may not be practicable or economical to do so. In certain cases loose loading of cartons, furniture in the container is also an acceptable method of loading and shipping. We recommend that all high value goods and electronic items should be crated or loaded in liftvans. Back Q. How do I prepare a packing list for loose loaded container? Mark each package with your name and number all packages separately and serially. For example if you have 6 chairs, number all of them and not take a lot of 6 chairs as 1 package. Back Q. What is the chance of pilferage, damage, or theft to the goods while they are in the port? Generally the security in the ports in India is very high and not many shipments undergo pilferage or theft. However, chances are always there that the shipment may be pilfered or cartons may be mixed up with other shipments. Hence, we recommend that all high value goods and electronic items should be crated or loaded in liftvans. Back Q. If I delay the customs clearance after the goods arrive will I be required to pay any additional charges (demurrage or container detention)? Indian law say that goods must be cleared within 30 days of landing otherwise they become liable for confiscation. However, this rule is not at all strictly enforced for personal effects and household goods shipments. If your goods remain in the shipping container, then very heavy charges apply. However in case of LCL shipments, once the goods are removed or de-stuffed from the shipping container, and kept in the port then only port demurrage is levied. We can offer our secure and safe warehouse for storage of your goods after clearance if you are not ready to accept delivery of your goods immediately after clearance. Many ports (Mumbai, New Delhi etc) have a very nominal demurrage charge but certain ports have a very heavy demurrage charge (Chennai, Kolkatta). Back Q. Will my goods be delivered to my door in the container itself? In most ports, the container is treated as a bonded good and is allowed into the country without payment of customs duty. This means that it cannot leave the port /Customs area. General practice is to de-stuff the goods from the container and deliver them in trucks or vans. However, certain provisions do exist where containers can be taken out to the residence for delivery (by filing bank guarantees with shipping lines, paying for insurance of the container etc). Back Q. Will my shipment be cleared at the entry port itself or can I have it custom cleared at an inland destination. Generally all shipments have to be cleared at the first port of arrival unless arrangements are made to send them to an inland destination under customs bond. Bonding involves filing of bank guarantees, personal bonds etc with customs. At the inland destination, customs clearance has to be done before the goods can be delivered to the residence. Therefore, it is much easier to clear the goods at the first port itself. Back Q. What are ICD's? How do I send my container to an ICD for final clearance there? . ICD - Inland Container Depots are dry ports or land stations where shipments are cleared. If you have a FCL container (sole use), you may book it with the shipping company to take it directly to the ICD for customs clearance. However LCL shipments may not go to the ICD but can be sent under CUSTOMS BOND (refer above) to the ICD for clearance. Back Q. Normally how long does a shipment take to clear customs and be delivered to my house after the vessel arrival at the port / airport in India? FCL containers are placed at the customs warehouse within 2-5 days after the arrival of the ship. Add another 2-3 days for de-stuffing, customs clearance and delivery procedures. LCL shipments generally take much longer - 10 to 15 days for placement of the container and de-stuffing and 2-3 days for moving to customs warehouse and 2 days for clearance and delivery formalities. Back Q. Can I ship my goods only up to the port or should I have my shipment on a Door-to-Door basis? Generally professionally packed shipments always move on a Door-to-Door basis. It is recommended that shipment be done in this way. However, if you have arrangements at the destination port with a moving company or a customs broker to arrange for destination service, you can book your shipment up to the port only. Back Q. Is it easy to find reliable and reputed agents once I arrive in to India to clear my shipment? Is it easy to find reliable and reputed agents once I arrive in to India to clear my shipment? A. Generally it is quite easy to find reliable and reputed agents. Please check for credentials and reputations before entrusting your job to any company. Memberships To international organizations, client lists, financial stability, infrastructure, number of years in operation, customs house agents license from the Government of India etc. are few handy ways to judge the reliability of a company and its reputation. nn Back BONDING OF GOODS
Q. What is meant by bonding of goods and what exactly happens when goods are sent under customs bond to an Inland destination? . Bonding of goods refers to sending a shipment to an inland destination for customs clearance. Generally, goods are supposed to be cleared at the first port of entry (p.o.e.) but if the customer resides at some other city, he may want his goods to be cleared there rather at the first port. In such a case, the goods are sent under customs bond (after being duly sealed). A bank guarantee and a personal bond have to be filed with the customs at the arrival port and goods have to be insured for transit. Upon arrival at the inland destination, a "Landing Remark Certificate" has to obtained and sent to us. On production of the LRC to the customs at the port of entry, the bank guarantee can be cancelled and returned to you. Back Q. Why do I have to file a bank guarantee and re-insure the goods? Since the customs will not open, inspect the goods, nor levy any duty at the port of entry, they would like to ensure that the duty and the revenue of the government are safe guarded. This is ensured by means of a bank guarantee. Secondly, the personal bond filed by the importer ensures that if there is any mis-declaration or difference in values between those declared at the port of entry and those assessed at the inland destination are different and a higher duty is leviable, then such duty can be enforced by means of a bond. Customs authorities also insist that the goods be insured while in transit so that the goods are covered from a total loss or theft or accidents etc. Back |