>>Household Goods

Eligibility Requirements for Availing Transfer Of Residence

Indian nationals, foreign nationals including those of Indian origin, transferring their residence to India or coming to India on employment, can import their personal effects and household goods into India under Transfer of Residence rules subject to the following conditions.

• Owner of the goods must have lived / stayed abroad for a minimum period of 2 years and must be transferring his / her residence to India. Indian nationals must not have visited India for more than six months in the preceding two years.
• Foreign nationals must have a resident / business / work / entry visa.
• Goods must be shipped out within 30 days of arrival of the owner into India. If there is a delay then goods can be cleared only if the delay is condoned by the customs authorities. Every case is decided on its merits.
• Owner or his or her family members should not have availed Transfer of Residence Concessions in the preceding 3 years.

Customs Duty Applicable On Transfer of Residence:

Personal effects and house-hold goods: furniture, small appliances like mixer, juicer, iron etc. are allowed to be imported duty free if these goods are old and are used by the shipper.

Other goods: per the latest update to the Indian Baggage regulations as on 8 Jan 2004, under transfer of residence, following items can be brought in to India duty free

• Video Cassette Recorder or Video Cassette Player or Video Television Receiver or Video Cassette Disk Player
• Washing Machine
• Electrical or Liquefied Petroleum Gas Cooking Range
• Personal Computer (Desk Top Computer)
• Laptop Computer (Notebook Computer)
• Domestic refrigerators of capacity up to 300 litres or equivalent

Under Transfer of residence duty for the following items the import duty has been reduced to 15%

• Color Television or Monochrome Television
• Digital Video Disc Player
• Video Home Theatre System
• Dish Washer
• Music System
• Air-Conditioner
• Domestic refrigerators of capacity above 300 litres or its equivalent
• Deep Freezer
• Microwave Oven
• Video camera or the combination of any such video camera with one or more of the following goods, namely:-
• Television Receiver
• Sound recording or reproducing apparatus
• Video reproducing apparatus
• Word Processing Machine
• Fax Machine
• Portable Photocopying Machine
• Vessel
• Aircraft
• Cinematographic films of 35 mm and above
• Gold or Silver, in any form, other than ornaments

Concessional customs duty rate of 15% of the value is allowed only on the first unit. If the owner has two or more similar units, or the combined value of the appliances & personal & household effects exceeds Rs. 5,00,000/= (USD 10,000) customs duty @ 40 % will be charged on the additional units or the additional value. All other new items are charged at 40% duty. Indian nationals coming to India on a short visit, can import any personal effects or household goods to India on payment of customs duty @ 40% of the value.

Suggestion: To ensure smooth clearance at customs, it is advisable to load all major electronic appliances in one liftvan or in the beginning of the container and their make, model no, serial number and quantity be provided to us along with the inventory.

Other Information Foodstuff imports: Foreign nationals can import foodstuff in their main household goods shipment duty free up to a limit of Rs. 50,000/= (USD 1000/=) Foreign nationals who are resident in India can import foodstuff worth Rs. 1,00,000 Per Annum (USD 2000). Wines, spirits, beverages, etc. are not allowed duty free under this facility. ( Payment for the foodstuff must be made out of funds of the foreign national available outside India.)

Import of Alcohol, Spirits etc.: Import duties on alcohol, wines, spirits, etc. are very high in India (approx. 244 %). It is not advisable to import liquor into India as most international brands of Liquor are available in India at reasonable prices. If you must ship Wine or Liquor, please pack them separately and clearly mark them so it is easily identifiable, else it could lead to unnecessary problems with customs if found during physical examination.

Restricted / prohibited goods: Porno-graphic material, obscene literature, narcotics, wildlife items like ivory, horns etc and firearms, ammunition and other weapons.

Disclaimer: Although Ship2India.com has tried to make the above information as accurate as possible, Ship2India.com accepts no responsibility for any loss or inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from information given above. Ship2India.com encourages you to verify any critical information with the relevant authorities before you book the consignment.

>>Pets

Pets Can be Imported into India as Excess Baggage or As Unaccompanied Cargo / Manifested Cargo. However there are restrictions as indicated below

As Excess Baggage

A maximum of 2 pets per shipper can be imported to India, as excess baggage or accompanied cargo. The pet owner or caretaker must accompany the pet during the transport in order to fulfill the requirements for non-commercial transport. Pets can be imported into India as excess baggage through most major Indian airports.

If you are bringing your pet as excess baggage, you will need to have to apply for an No Objection Certificate (NOC)/ Import Permit from the Animal Quarantine Station. However this cannot be applied online and will require the assistance of an agent in India. The process to obtain NOC will take 2 to 3 working days. Hence all documents required for obtaining NOC should be sent 7 working days in advance to the pet moving company.

Procedural Formalities:

• Obtain No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Quarantine Officer at the Animal Quarantine Station in India 5 days before your travel.
• Provide a copy of the NOC to the airline in order to reconfirm booking of the pet.
• Affix a duplicate copy of the NOC to the crate during the air travel.
• Produce a copy of the NOC in India to get the pet released from the customs at the Airport in India.
• On arrival in to India, immediately take the pet to the Quarantine Officer (prior appointment required) for examination and issue of a temporary Health Certificate.
• After 30 days obtain a certificate of health from a local veterinarian and produce it to the Animal Quarantine Station and obtain a permanent quarantine certificate.

As Unaccompanied Cargo / Manifested Cargo.

Pets can be imported into India as unaccompanied cargo through New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata Airports only. If you are bringing your pet as unaccompanied cargo, in addition to the above pet moving companies will also require below documents

• Microchip Number
• Vaccination Card
• Health Certificate
• Passport Copy of Owner / Caretaker
• E-Ticket Copy of Owner / Caretaker
• Copy of the airway bill (Unaccompanied only)
• Based on the above NOC can be obtained

Disclaimer: Although Ship2India.com has tried to make the above information as accurate as possible, Ship2India.com accepts no responsibility for any loss or inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from information given above. Ship2India.com encourages you to verify any critical information with the relevant authorities before you book the consignment.

>>General Cargo

All goods imported into India have to pass through the procedure of customs for proper examination, appraisal, assessment and evaluation. This helps the custom authorities to charge the proper tax and also check the goods against the illegal import. Also it is important to note that no import is allowed in India if the importer doesn’t have the IEC number issued by the DFGT. There is no requirement of IEC number if the goods are imported for the personal use.

Bill of Entry A Bill of Entry also known as Shipment Bill is a statement of the nature and value of goods to be imported or exported, prepared by the shipper and presented to a custom house. The importer clearing the goods for domestic consumption has to file bill of entry in four copies; original and duplicate are meant for customs, third copy for the importer and the fourth copy is meant for the bank for making remittances.

If the goods are cleared through the EDI system, no formal Bill of Entry is filed as it is generated in the computer system, but the importer is required to file a cargo declaration having prescribed particulars required for processing of the entry for customs clearance. In the non-EDI system along with the bill of entry filed by the importer or his representative the following documents are also generally required:-

• Signed invoice
• Packing list
• Bill of Lading or Delivery Order/Airway Bill
• GATT declaration form duly filled in
• Importers/ CHA’s declaration
• License wherever necessary
• Letter of Credit/Bank Draft/wherever necessary
• Insurance document
• Import license
• Industrial License, if required
• Test report in case of chemicals
• Adhoc exemption order
• DEEC Book/DEPB in original
• Catalogue, Technical write up, Literature in case of machineries, spares or chemicals as may be applicable
• Separately split up value of spares, components machineries
• Certificate of Origin, if preferential rate of duty is claimed
• No Commission declaration

Amendment of Bill of Entry

When Corrections to be made after submission of documents, amendments are made to the bill of entry with the approval of Deputy/Assistant Commissioner.

Green Channel facility

Some major importers have been given the green channel clearance facility. It means clearance of goods is done without routine examination of the goods. They have to make a declaration in the declaration form at the time of filing of bill of entry. The appraisement is done as per normal procedure except that there would be no physical examination of the goods.

Payment of Duty

Import duty may be paid in the designated banks or through TR-6 challans. Different Custom Houses have authorised different banks for payment of duty and is necessary to check the name of the bank and the branch before depositing the duty.

Prior Entry for Shipping Bill or Bill of Entry

For faster clearance of the goods, provision has been made in section 46 of the Act, to allow filing of bill of entry prior to arrival of goods. This bill of entry is valid if vessel/aircraft carrying the goods arrive within 30 days from the date of presentation of bill of entry.

Specialized Schemes Import of goods under specialized scheme such as DEEC and EOU etc is required to execute bonds with the custom authorities. In case failure of bond, importer is required to pay the duty livable on those goods. The amount of bond would be equal to the amount of duty livable on the imported goods. The bank guarantee is also required along with the bond. However, the amount of bank guarantee depends upon the status of the importer like Super Star Trading House/Trading House etc.

Bill of Entry for Bond/Warehousing

A separate form of bill of entry is used for clearance of goods for warehousing. Assessment of this bill of entry is done in the same manner as the normal bill of entry and then the duty payable is determined.

Disclaimer: Although Ship2India.com has tried to make the above information as accurate as possible, Ship2India.com accepts no responsibility for any loss or inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from information given above. Ship2India.com encourages you to verify any critical information with the relevant authorities before you book the consignment.

>>Motor Vehicles

Import of motor vehicles under “Transfer of Residence”

Import of ONE used vehicle (car or motor cycle) is allowed to an individual who is coming to India on Permanent Settlement.

The import shall be subject to the following conditions:

• The importer must be coming to India for permanent settlement after two years continuous stay abroad.
• The car/motorcycle/vehicle (Jeep/SUV etc) must have in the importers possession or ownership for more than 1 year prior to import.
• The motor car must have right hand steering & controls.
• The importer must file a bond with customs that the vehicle will not be sold for a period of two years from the date of import.

The following documents and information is required for the clearance of such vehicles imported to India:

• Original manufacturers invoice / value evidence / price list
• Original passport
• Residence proof (property papers, rent receipt, electric bill etc)
• Original bill of lading
• Vehicle catalogue/brochure/write up/owners manual etc
• Keys of the vehicle (incl remote alarm activator/deactivator)
• Physical location of engine number on the vehicle
• Physical location of chassis number on the vehicle
• List of standard accessories available with the vehicle
• List of optional accessories imported with the vehicle
• Evidence of the actual freight paid.
• Insurance policy / certificate
• Authorization letter in favour of clearing agents
• Signatures on import declaration forms

Import Duties Applicable:

Used Cars / Bike: Approx 167% of custom assessed value

New Cars / Bike : Approx 108% of custom assessed value

Important advice: At the time of shipping the vehicle, please request the shipping companies to allow maximum free time for the container. Normal free time is only 5 days after arrival. Generally shipping companies do consider extending the free time to 10/14/21/30 days.

Disclaimer: Although Ship2India.com has tried to make the above information as accurate as possible, Ship2India.com accepts no responsibility for any loss or inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from information given above. Ship2India.com encourages you to verify any critical information with the relevant authorities before you book the consignment.