The reason of sharing this post is to spread across the information I gathered through my research and other blogs for the things one can carry to India, Especially TV (LED, LCD, UHD).
I hope that this information will be useful for the people who are traveling back to India and would like bring home something like Television set.
Few months back I traveled from UK to India with my LG 32" 3D SMART LED TV.
As you can imagine, the big headache was to carry entire family luggage + TV as a special luggage to India that too with new rules of import duty.
In addition to this, on some of running blogs I've found that:
"The goods over and above the free allowances of 25,000 (which includes electronics and jewellery - excluding one laptop) shall be chargeable at more then 35% customs duty - you need to pay duty on anything exceeding 25,000"
Please note that, FREE ALLOWANCE is not applicable to TV's. For more details, I approached Commission of Customs and I received below response.
So now as you got the background and actual % of the import duty you need to pay once you land in India.
Do not forget below things, which plays important part in getting the value of money for the product you've purchased in abroad countries:
**As I've traveled from UK (Heathrow) to India (Mumbai) - I am sharing my experience here. **
1. Select the right Airline/ Flight
- As many airlines charge additional GBP for electronics such as Music Systems/ TV's
- Fee varies from £50 to £100
- I picked "Air India" which didn't charge any additional cost for special luggage for me
- For other airlines you can check from their respective websites.
2. Assume, you land safe with your TV
- Ensure you have your TV packed in a original box, that packing is a real shield for your device.
- As TV you do not get separately, it comes on the same belt as of normal baggage.
- Get your luggage/ TV and go straight to custom counter
- You will see officers sitting in 'white dress', only talk to them - Don't even think of bribing someone or hoping that someone will take you out without fees. It no longer happens.
3. Now, once you are @ the counter with Custom Officer
- Provide the Receipt/ Bill or Invoice of your TV & Passport
- S/ He'll do some calculation and will ask you few questions (mostly about your profession/ years spent in abroad countries).
- Trust me, it does not matter if your TV is NEW, OLD, USED, GIFTED - Do not waste your time on that debate.
- Politely deal with them, they will listen to you (I've experienced this) and then they will negotiate.
- How you negotiate is your quality - this will actually decide the price of your TV :)
Basic calculation: e.g.:
Calculation: 25,000 * 36.05% = 9012.50 INR
Discount: Negotiate (in my case I negotiated till 5k)
4. Suppose, officer agrees on a amount, he will prepare the Custom Challan (Receipt)
- Take that and go behind the custom desk, beside green channel check-post
- That's the account section, pay the mentioned fees (you can pay in any currency - rates are applicable of that day)
- Come back to your officers desk, show the paid receipt and collect the documents.
5. This is the moment...
- Walk with a pride straight from the green channel :)
As I mentioned earlier, last price of your TV includes pick up from your abroad home till the drop @ your India home.
Also, remember India uses a different TV signal encoding method (PAL), whereas US and Korea uses NTSC TV signal. Check with the dealer before purchase.
If you are purchasing TV from UK, then do not worry - as except UK power plug converter pin, you do not need anything else.
You can buy adapter from this Link
I hope this will help. The efforts behind this is just for sharing an information and experienced I've been through.
I hope that this information will be useful for the people who are traveling back to India and would like bring home something like Television set.
Few months back I traveled from UK to India with my LG 32" 3D SMART LED TV.
As you can imagine, the big headache was to carry entire family luggage + TV as a special luggage to India that too with new rules of import duty.
In addition to this, on some of running blogs I've found that:
"The goods over and above the free allowances of 25,000 (which includes electronics and jewellery - excluding one laptop) shall be chargeable at more then 35% customs duty - you need to pay duty on anything exceeding 25,000"
Please note that, FREE ALLOWANCE is not applicable to TV's. For more details, I approached Commission of Customs and I received below response.
So now as you got the background and actual % of the import duty you need to pay once you land in India.
Do not forget below things, which plays important part in getting the value of money for the product you've purchased in abroad countries:
**As I've traveled from UK (Heathrow) to India (Mumbai) - I am sharing my experience here. **
1. Select the right Airline/ Flight
- As many airlines charge additional GBP for electronics such as Music Systems/ TV's
- Fee varies from £50 to £100
- I picked "Air India" which didn't charge any additional cost for special luggage for me
- For other airlines you can check from their respective websites.
2. Assume, you land safe with your TV
- Ensure you have your TV packed in a original box, that packing is a real shield for your device.
- As TV you do not get separately, it comes on the same belt as of normal baggage.
- Get your luggage/ TV and go straight to custom counter
- You will see officers sitting in 'white dress', only talk to them - Don't even think of bribing someone or hoping that someone will take you out without fees. It no longer happens.
3. Now, once you are @ the counter with Custom Officer
- Provide the Receipt/ Bill or Invoice of your TV & Passport
- S/ He'll do some calculation and will ask you few questions (mostly about your profession/ years spent in abroad countries).
- Trust me, it does not matter if your TV is NEW, OLD, USED, GIFTED - Do not waste your time on that debate.
- Politely deal with them, they will listen to you (I've experienced this) and then they will negotiate.
- How you negotiate is your quality - this will actually decide the price of your TV :)
Basic calculation: e.g.:
Cost of TV: 25,000 INR (after conversion)
Custom Fees: 36.05%Calculation: 25,000 * 36.05% = 9012.50 INR
Discount: Negotiate (in my case I negotiated till 5k)
- Take that and go behind the custom desk, beside green channel check-post
- That's the account section, pay the mentioned fees (you can pay in any currency - rates are applicable of that day)
- Come back to your officers desk, show the paid receipt and collect the documents.
5. This is the moment...
- Walk with a pride straight from the green channel :)
As I mentioned earlier, last price of your TV includes pick up from your abroad home till the drop @ your India home.
Also, remember India uses a different TV signal encoding method (PAL), whereas US and Korea uses NTSC TV signal. Check with the dealer before purchase.
If you are purchasing TV from UK, then do not worry - as except UK power plug converter pin, you do not need anything else.
You can buy adapter from this Link
I hope this will help. The efforts behind this is just for sharing an information and experienced I've been through.
Thanks a ton....
ReplyDeleteI am glad it helped you Harpreet...
ReplyDelete@Nikhil ..You are a life saver mann.. Thank you sooo Much .. Was spending days searching for the exact procedure...
Delete@Prabhu: It is really good to hear that this post helped you :)
DeleteKhup chan ahe blog.i m more clear now better to Buy led in india..
DeleteAny idea if customs duty is charged on spare parts like say an LED TV's panel? Is this rule still valid?
ReplyDeleteDilip,
DeleteParts of LCD and LED panels for TVs
Basic Customs Duty is being exempted on specified parts of LCD and LED panels for TVs. Notification No.12/2012-Customs, dated 17th March, 2012 as amended by notification No.12/2014-Customs, dated 11th July, 2014 [new S.No.432B] refers.
I would suggest send e-mail to custom officer for precise query or also have a look on following link: https://www.icegate.gov.in/Webappl/
Nikhil
very nice explanation sir
ReplyDeletesir i have one question can you please give ans of that?
one of my friend lives in dubai and he wants to send mi a LED TV which cost around 2500 AED but he or his family member not coming to india he just send that through airline to mumbai airport.
so my question is can this is possible? if yes then how to get that product ?
and what is the duty or charges i have to pay to get that?
Yogesh,
DeleteI'm glad you liked the article.
Onto your next question:
1. If your friend/ relative sending you a TV even as a gift - they have to sent it via cargo means it will be held at customs till you pay the duty and / or claim its exemption.
From other people experiences (Once it gets into the cargo, it becomes complex as you need to know the process of clearing the package from cargo, etc etc...) which is complex.
2. Do check with Airlines before sending it - as I'm not sure if they would ready to ship the item if there is no one to claim it on the destination airport.
3. As TV's/ TV panels are no longer exempted from the duty free allowances - you would have to pay the same duty whether you carry it with you or someone sends it to India via cargo.
Its really awesome experience/information shared my dear friend. Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sunil,
DeleteI'm happy that this is helping everyone.
Reg,
NK
Hi Nikhil, This is really useful, thanks a lot. one question though, Is 36% applied on the price of the item as applicable in india or US/UK where the actual item is bought.
ReplyDeleteHi BULUSU'S,
DeleteIt is usually based on the receipt you produce. As I mentioned above, if the TV cost is 500 GBP & conversion rate is Rs.100.
Duty Officer will consider the cost i.e.Rs.50,000/- and will calculate 36% on this amount.
Nikhil appreciate the detailed write-up. Really clarifies all rules and process.
ReplyDeletei have bought a brand new samsung 40 in LED TV for £300 as a gift to someone in india. so now i know what the official rules are. And just like most indians i want to save as much as I can in the customs charge. i read your point about they dont take bribe, really happy to hear that. And thanks for your TIP on that you can negotiate.
My question was around the security - how strict are they in trying to catch people carrying TV i know you advised to honestly go to the officer and negotiate and pay the duty. But if you just start walking through to Green channel will they actually stop you ? Offcourse they will be able to see that i am carrying a TV.
Many thanks.
Ashutosh Singh
Ashutosh,
DeleteI'm glad those 2 cent write up helped you.
Now onto your question - I'm not sure if you've recently traveled to India specially to Mumbai.
When you land in Mumbai, it is mostly Terminal 2. It's a long a walk from Flight > Immigration > till luggage belt.
Right in front of luggage belt section you'll see exit from the terminal which is surrounded by officers i.e. Gate 1
If you pass that, you'll see Airport Police and 2/ 3 scanner machines where you will be usually asked to scan your Cabin luggage (this is the spot where Police can definitely ask you if you've paid the duty taxes or might also ask for the receipt)
Even if you pass that, you'll get next slot of cops, where you handover your landing card. Possibility s/ he may ask you for the same.
Last stop will the BSF/ Military at the main gate - who will anyway look at you as suspicious suspect. :)
So in my opinion why to take such risk for 9-10K INR :) better way pay the duty up front and walk with pride.
Besides its entirely up to you and your consensus...
Also note that walking through Green channel means - Person has nothing to declare (so if get caught - don't know if they will charge you with some penalty or fine.)
I hope this helps.
NK
thanks again for the detailed view there. it really is useful. and keep up the good work of sharing your experience. Gives a good insight of the problem and the solution. cheers.
ReplyDeleteHi Nikhil,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, thanks for the detailed explanation which is very helpful. Keep up the good work as it helps many people.
Even though you have mentioned that the duty is calculated on the purchase value / invoice value (which also logically makes sense), since I came across other articles where people are saying that the duty is applied on the MRP of that product on India and on the face of it, it doesnt makes sense to be called as cutoms duty to me, I would like to ask you if you are 100% sure that they apply duty on the invoice value and not on the Indian MRP?
Another thing I would like to know is with regards to the tv signal encoding method, do you know the TVs available in Thailand are generally of which method?
Regards,
Ht
Hi HT,
DeleteI'm 101% sure they verify your invoice and convert the $ € £ value to INR and then they will calculate custom duty charges on the INR amount.
In some cases I've heard that people were not having original receipt/ invoices of the product in that case duty officer checks which model you are importing (3D, SMART, HD, UHD, etc etc) and compare with the list they have with Indian price of the product and might provide rough estimates on the charges.
Your step would be to negotiate :)
In reg to 2nd question, I think TVs made in Thailand supports PAL B and it should work in India. But I would suggest check with the shop person or the documents of the product you own.
For your ref:
1. http://shop.sandbag.uk.com/OneGiantLeap/PALNTSCInfo.html
2. https://support.chinavasion.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/272/40/pal--ntsc--secam-countries-list
Reg,
NK
Hi Nikhil, your blog is a great service to all - greatly appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteI am moving back from London to Pune after 9 years in UK and I will be opting for Transfer of Residence route as per which (as I read on India Customs website) I need NOT pay anything more than c18%. Will you be able to comment on that?
And more importantly, will I have to pay duty on my laptops as well (personal and work provided)?
Hi Mayank,
ReplyDeleteIn my research, I've come across of the following, I hope this will help:
Duty free items allowed under transfer of residence
The total combined value of such goods should not exceed Rs.5 lacs.
NRIs should also be aware that, not more than one unit, of each item of such goods is allowed, per family.
Items allowed duty free under transfer of residence are:
1.Used personal and household articles
2.Jewelry up to Rs. 50,000 by a gentleman passenger or Rs. 10,0000 for a lady passenger.
3.Jewelry taken out earlier by the passenger or by a member of his family from India. (Proof may be required)
4.Video Cassette Recorder or Video Cassette Player or Video Television Receiver or Video Cassette Disk Player.
5.Washing Machine.
6.Electrical or Liquefied Petroleum Gas Cooking Range
7.Personal Computer(Desktop Computer)
8.Laptop Computer (Notebook Computer)
9.Domestic Refrigerators of capacity up to 300 liters or its equivalent.
**List of items with reduced customs duty For the following items a reduced customs duty of 15% plus a 3% educational cess is charged.**
It does not matter whether these items are new or old.
•Color Television or Monochrome Television.
•Digital Video Disc Player.
•Video Home Theater 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:-
o Television Receiver;
o Sound recording or reproducing apparatus;
o 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.
Since you are returning after 9 years, I'm sure you'll be with loads of luggage, on personal level I would suggest try to reduce as much as you can to have headache-free travel. Bring only those things which you feel are not present/ available in Pune.
FYI - you'll now get similar or better things here in Pune than ARGOS/ WILKO/ CLAS OHLSON :-)
Now we've, SUPERDRY, ZARA, CK, Timberland, Clarks, MANGO, VERO MODA, AND...many more so don't waste your luggage allowance on these ;-)
Additionally, try below courier service for roughly 3 GBP/ kgs (you can give him my ref - I used to stay in Reading)
Mr. Bipin kumar.
Jumbo Parcel Service Ltd.
': +44 020 8900 1349 | F: +44 020 8903 9639 | M : +44 754 542 5460
Email: info@jumboparcelservices.com
Web : www.jumboparcelservices.com
Unit 7, Plaza Parade, 29-33, Ealing Rd., Wembley. HA0 4YA.
Happy Journey!!!
Reg,
NK
Many thanks Nikhil! Very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI have found that this site is very informative, interesting and very well written. keep up the nice high quality writing. Import to NZ
ReplyDelete