Transfer of residence
(1)A person who is transferring his residence to India shall be allowed clearance free of duty, in addition to what he is allowed under rule 3 or, as the case may be, under rule 4, articles in his bona fide baggage to the extent mentioned in column (1) of Appendix F, subject to the conditions, if any, mentioned in the corresponding entry in column (2) of the said Appendix.
(2) The conditions may be relaxed to the extent mentioned in column (3) of the said Appendix.
· Appendix A
· (See rule 3)
(1)Articles allowed free of duty (2)(a) All passengers of and above 10 years of age and returning after stay abroad of more than three days.(i) Used personal effects, excluding jewellery, required for satisfying daily necessities of life. (Ii) Articles other than those mentioned in Annex. I up to a value of Rs. 45,000/- if these are carried on the person or in the accompanied baggage of the passenger.
(b) All passengers of and above 10 years of age and returning after stay abroad of three days or less.(i) Used personal effects, excluding jewellery, required for satisfying daily necessities of life. (Ii) Articles other than those mentioned in Annex. I up to a value of Rs.17, 500/- if these are carried on the person or in the accompanied baggage of the passenger.
(c) All passengers up to 10 years of age and returning after stay abroad of more than three days.(i) Used personal effects, excluding jewellery, required for satisfying daily necessities of life. (Ii) Articles other than those mentioned in Annex. I up to a value of Rs. 17,500/- if these are carried on the person or in the accompanied baggage of the passenger.
(d) All passengers up to 10 years of age and returning after stay abroad of three days or less.(i) Used personal effects, excluding jewellery, required for satisfying daily necessities of life. (Ii) Articles other than those mentioned in Annex. I up to a value of Rs. 3,000/- if these are carried on the person or in the accompanied baggage of the passenger.
Explanation. - The free allowance under this rule shall not be allowed to be pooled with the free allowance of any other passenger.
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· APPENDIX B (See rule 4)
(1)(2)(a) Passengers of and above 10 years of age and returning after stay abroad of more than three days.(i) Used personal effects, excluding jewellery, required for satisfying daily necessities of life. (b) Articles other than those mentioned in Annex. I up to a value of `. 6,000 if these are carried on the person or in the accompanied baggage of the passenger.(ii) Passengers up to 10 years of age and returning after stay abroad of more than three days.(i) Used personal effects, excluding jewellery, required for satisfying daily necessities of life. (Ii) Articles other than those mentioned in Annex. I up to a value of `1500 if these am carried on the person or in the accompanied baggage of the passenger.
· Explanation. - The free allowance under this rule shall not be allowed to be pooled with the free allowance of any other passenger.
· APPENDIX F (See rule 8)
Articles allowed free of dutyConditionsRelaxation that may be considered(a) Used personal and household articles, other than those listed at Annex. I or Annex. II, but including the article listed at Annexure III and jewellery up to fifty thousand rupees by a gentleman passenger or one lakh rupees by a lady passenger.(1) Minimum stay of two years abroad, immediately preceding the date of his arrival on TR, (2) total stay in India on short visit during the 2 preceding years should not exceed 6 months, and (3) passenger has not availed this concession in the preceding three years.
(a) For condition (1) Shortfall of up to 2 months in stay abroad can be condoned by Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs if the early return is on account of : (i) terminal leave or vacation being availed of by the passenger; or (ii) any other special circumstances. (b) For condition (2) Commissioner of Customs may condone short visits in excess of 6 months in deserving cases. (c) For condition (3) No relaxation(b) Jewellery taken out earlier by the passenger or by a member of his family from India.Satisfaction of the Asstt. Commissioner of Customs regarding the jewellery having been taken out earlier from India.
Annexure I
1.Firearms.
2.Cartridges of fire arms exceeding 50.
3.Cigarettes exceeding 100 or cigars exceeding 25 or tobacco exceeding 125 gms.
4.Alcoholic liquor or wines in excess of two litres.
5.Gold or silver, in any form, other than ornaments.
6.Flat Panel (LCD/LED/Plasma) Television.
Annexure II
1.Colour Television or Monochrome Television.
2.Digital Video Disc Player.
3.Video Home Theatre System.
4.Dish Washer.
5.Music System.
6.Air-Conditioner.
7.Domestic refrigerators of capacity above 300 litres or its equivalent.
8.Deep Freezer.
9.Microwave Oven.
10.Video camera or the combination of any such video camera with one or more of the following goods, namely:-
a)Television Receiver;
b)Sound recording or reproducing apparatus;
c)Video reproducing apparatus.
11.Word Processing Machine.
12.Fax Machine.
13.Portable Photocopying Machine.
14.Vessel.
15.Aircraft.
16.Cinematographic films of 35 mm and above.
17.Gold or Silver, in any form, other than ornaments.
Annexure III
1.Video Cassette Recorder or Video Cassette Player or Video Television Receiver or Video Cassette Disk Player.
2.Washing Machine.
3.Electrical or Liquefied Petroleum Gas Cooking Range
4.Personal Computer( Desktop Computer)
5.Laptop Computer( Notebook Computer)
6.Domestic Refrigerators of capacity up to 300 litres or its equivalent.
Taking a car to India by NRIs - Car Imports by NRIs -
Import Used Car to India
Import of cars by persons returning to India for permanent settlement
Rules for importing a car to India by Non Resident Indians (NRIs) Individuals returning to India for permanent settlement as well as the following categories may not be subject to the rules discussed for import of a car to India in the previous page under part 1. Categories of importers to whom the previous mentioned rules may not be applicable are:1.Individuals coming to India for permanent settlement after TWO years continuous stay abroad provided the car has been in their possession for a period of at least one year.2.Resident Indians presented with a car as an award in any international event, match or competition.3.Legal heirs, successors of deceased relatives residing abroad.4.Physically handicapped persons.5.Companies incorporated in India and having foreign equity participation.6.Branches and offices of foreign firms.7.Charitable/Missionary/Religious institutions (Registered as per law)8.Honorary Consuls of foreign countries on the recommendations of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.9.Journalists/Correspondents of foreign news agencies having accreditation certificate with the Press information bureau, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. All the above categories shall be entitled to import only one vehicle except categories 5 & 6 which shall be entitled to import a maximum of three vehicles. ALL such imports cannot be sold for a period of TWO years from the date of registration in India.
Car Imports by Non Resident Indians - NRIs Planning to take a car to India information
If you are an NRI and toying with the idea of taking a car back to India when you return. Consider the following: 1.Use the services of a customs broker. Paper work in India moves in all directions quickly except forward. Hiring a customs broker at the port of arrival will speed up things and believe it or not save you from a lot of unnecessary hassles.2.If your wondering whether you can make a profit by selling the car in India, in my opinion you would. There is usually a demand for foreign cars and the upper class in India have loads of money. One thing Indians don't mind paying is status symbols and when it comes to status symbols a foreign car probably is way up on the list. A word of caution here though, imported cars have a time restriction on when you can sell them. However some brokers and dealers bypass the registration step for the two year waiting time. The seller gets his or her money, the buyer gets the car and the registration is done at a later date, needless to say this is not legal but people seem to do it. On the question of whether one should take a car back to India, It would of course have to be a personal decision for all. However as for myself I can only give prospective NRIs advice by expressing a personal opinion that if you plan to resettle in India, it might be prudent to keep a low profile. Unless of course you have lots of money and want to flaunt it. Please Note: The total Customs duty incidence on cars comes to around 181%. The car can only be imported, if you are transferring residence into India and the engine capacity is less than 1600 cc (for new cars), there is no cc limit for old and used cars, in your possession for more than 1 year. Customs duty on used cars is calculated on a depreciated price depending on the age of the vehicle.
Paying of Customs Duty by Foreign Exchange
Indian nationals or foreign nationals of Indian origin returning to India for permanent settlement bringing vehicles to India will have to pay customs duty in foreign exchange or from their bank accounts in India that have funds deposited from abroad, such as NRE or FCNR accounts.
Customs duty on second hand cars in India
An invoice presented by NRIs showing they purchased the car at a discounted price will probably not suffice when it comes to calculation of customs duty in India. To access duty on second hand cars, depreciation is allowed from the new car price based on how old the car is. The value of a new car is determined by the new car sale invoice or if such a document is not available, then the value of a new vehicle for calculation of customs duty is based on world car catalogues that are available to customs officers. When you take a second hand car to India, to calculate the customs duty you must pay, the customs officers to determine the value of the second hand car will allow depreciation based on the age of the car:
Depreciation allowed on used cars for calculation of customs duty
•For every quarter during 1st year 4%
•For every quarter during 2nd year 3%
•For every quarter during 3rd year 2.5%
•For every quarter during 4th year and thereafter 2%Maximum Depreciation allowed on Used Cars in India is 70% based on the new car price.
Customs Clearance
International passengers arriving at any of the Indian airports have to go through either the
· Green Channel if they are not carrying articles which invite duty
· Red Channel if they are carrying articles which invite duty.
· All passengers are required to declare the contents of their baggage correctly. The customs portion of the disembarkation card has to be submitted by green channel passengers before leaving the airport terminal. Passengers walking through the Green Channel caught carrying dutiable articles would invite prosecution and penalty.
· A Currency Declaration Form has to be submitted upon arrival if the value of the foreign currency being carried is the equivalent of USD 5000; or aggregate of USD 10,000 in the case of all forms of foreign exchange.
· Only Indian passengers returning from overseas are allowed to carry Indian currency of Upto Rs.5000
Baggage Rules
The Baggage (Amendment) Rules, 2006 apply to non-resident Indians returning home to India. As per the law,
Ø Indian passengers returning from an overseas stay of less than 3 days are allowed to bring back used personal effects except jewellery without paying any duty. In addition, they can bring back other assets within a limit of Rs.12, 000 as accompanied baggage.
Ø Indian passengers returning from an overseas stay of more than 3 days are allowed to bring back used personal effects except jewellery without paying any duty. In addition, they can bring back other assets within a limit of Rs.25, 000 as accompanied baggage
Ø A laptop is also allowed free of duty to any passenger over the age of 18, over and above the permitted articles.
Ø Indian passengers returning from an overseas stay of at least 3 months are allowed to bring back used household effects up to a maximum worth of Rs.12, 000 without paying any duty. In addition, they can bring back other professional equipment within a limit of Rs.20, 000 as accompanied baggage. Professional equipment refers to portable instruments, gadgets and apparatus used by the passenger in his profession, and includes tools used by carpenters, plumbers etc.
Ø Indian passengers returning from an overseas stay of at least 6 months are allowed to bring back used household effects up to a maximum worth of Rs.12, 000 without paying any duty. In addition, they can bring back other professional equipment within a limit of Rs.40, 000 as accompanied baggage
Ø Indian passengers returning from an overseas stay of at least 365 days in the last 2 years, and who have not availed of any concession on duty in the last 3 years are allowed to bring back used personal and household effects up to a maximum worth of Rs.75, 000 without paying any duty.
Ø Customs duty would be levied on articles exceeding the free allowance @ of 35%, plus an education cess of 2% (effectively 35.7%)
Ø The Customs Tariff would also apply to import of alcohol and tobacco products if they exceed the permissible limits.
Ø In the case of Jewellery, male Indian passengers who have lived abroad for more than a year are entitled to bring back articles worth Rs.10,000, while female passengers are allowed up to Rs.20,000
Ø NRIs visiting India are allowed personal effects and other articles which they would be taking back with them on their return abroad.