[benz220]

I am thinking of importing a set of 17 inch AMG wheels for my W124. Can anyone help with customs duty etc and possible problems of doing this? I am happy to pay the duty.

Wheels would ship from California. Thanks

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by benz220

I am thinking of importing a set of 17 inch AMG wheels for my W124. Can anyone help with customs duty etc and possible problems of doing this? I am happy to pay the duty.

I'm no expert when it comes to this, but sharing a few points:

1) Ensure the buyer's name mentioned in the mailing address & invoice matches your ID proof (eg. Aadhaar) !!EXACTLY!!. As for a corresponding address, it's easiest to ship to your Aadhaar address. If you need the package to be delivered elsewhere, other paperwork (lease agreement, electricity bill, etc) will be required in your name @ that desired address. If your name isn't on those documents, you might be able to get by with a NOC from the person whos name is mentioned. However, overall it's just easiest to ship to the address mentioned on your Aadhaar card.

2) Ensure the bill says "Invoice" or "Tax Invoice" and not Proforma Invoice

3) HSN Code must be mentioned on the invoice clearly & accurately. It is going to be the largest determinant of the Custom Duty you will be paying.

4) You can cross-check expected customs duty on import/export sites like this, or better yet, use the official ICEGATE website which gives you a very clear & accurate break-up:
(If you struggle to get to this page, step-by-step instructions are in post #9 below)

5) But it's not as simple as the Customs Duty you see above. The break-up and final amount will usually catch you by surprise. Points to note:

• Customs Duty will be calculated on the cost of goods + shipping
• There will be a Social Welfare Charge (SWS) which is usually 10% of the Basic Customs Duty (so ~1% overall)
• Countervailing duty (CVD) might apply (am not sure about this, but just mentioning)
• IGST (usually 12-18%) will apply on the total cost so far. Can be 28% for "jewelry" etc



Sharing the ROUGH Excel file for what it's worth: ROUGH Customs Calculator.xlsx

6) Do you have a personal GSTIN? If yes, you could mention it. (I'm not sure of the implications). Either way, you must at least share your PAN with the shipper, and they will need to mention it to the courier company / documentation.

7) If you're going to be importing as a business, there are some additional requirements. (eg. "AD Code" from bank)

8) Make sure you have the right shipping terms (INCOTERMS) mentioned by the supplier. Usually you want "DAP" (Delivery At Place). "DDP" (Delivery Duty Paid) sounds good, but I've heard it can be scammy at times. Check youtube for more info.

Source

9) Usually if you use a reputed company like FedEx or DHL, they take care of EVERYTHING and deliver at your doorstep ("DAP"). They will send you a payment link for the customs charges, and you pay online, after which they deliver the item to you. FedEx typically has some "handling/processing" charges ~Rs. 500-800 from what I've seen. Don't hesitate to negotiate with the seller for a better FedEx/DHL price if it sounds too high (sometimes there's a priority & economy option they can choose between). In your case, the wheels are heavy AND big, so shipping is probably going to bite!

10) The shipper/clearer will send you some sort of break-up/invoice when asking for payment. This is usually decent, but doesn't have ALL the details. If you want all the details you could ask for the BOE (Bill of Entry) which will have things like HSN used, exact duty break-up, etc etc.

11) I'll say it again, if the customer name on the package do not match your Aadhaar (or whatever ID) exactly, then you're just asking for trouble.

12) Good shipping can be surprisingly fast. I've received stuff in 2-4 days from overseas.

13) Manage your expectations. And mentally prepare to pay a higher amount . That way you wont be taken by surprise, and you'll be happy in the end no matter what you get charged.

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by benz220

I am thinking of importing a set of 17 inch AMG wheels for my W124. Can anyone help with customs duty etc and possible problems of doing this? I am happy to pay the duty.

Wheels would ship from California. Thanks

Repeating what Rehaan said. These days, my imports come via sea and I have my CHA handle everything. However, back in the day, I imported a lot of car parts. There was only one company that I trusted to handle them. DHL. They still are at the top of their game and by-far the best shipping company for small-medium air shipping. Make sure your shipment matches your actual details (name, PAN, GST (if applicable), address, etc). If the address on the shipment does not match the one on your ID, you will need to find a way to prove that the address on the shipment is where you currently reside. I had that situation once when I'd just moved. Thankfully, a soft-copy of my ISP's bill (mentioning the address that was on the shipment) was enough. Also, as soon as the items are shipped, you will be contacted by the shipping company to upload your KYC details. Do not delay that.

Edit: Apologies for not reading the date on which the import query was posted. Don't really know why a month-old post is bumped to the front page of the site when the query has been answered.

[ritedhawan]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

I'm no expert when it comes to this, but sharing a few points:

1) Ensure the name & address on the invoice/mailing address matches your ID proof (eg. Aadhaar) !!EXACTLY!!. Especially the buyer's name.

10) I'll say it again, if the shipping address / customer name on the package do not match your Aadhaar (or whatever ID) exactly, then you're just asking for trouble.

For "Name" you are right, but for address not necessarily. I have been living in Noida for past 4 years and yet the details on Aadhaar have always been from my birthplace which is a different state than Noida, UP. All they ask for is an alternative document and the "rent agreement' works fine. I have tried DHL, USPS, UPS, and the moment package reaches thier hands the very next moment an email goes out to me for the required documents and Yes PAN card copy is required. I bought car parts from dealers in Malaysia, Singapore for my ernstwhile Honda Accord. As I type, In the background lies a book shelf and half of the books have been imported from US. I never faced any issue with documentation and the rent agreement along with PAN card copy worked fine.

Your point (1) and (10) implies that a person cannot expect a shipment on any other address than the one on aadhaar and that is not true.

[Aditya]

Understanding customs charges when importing parts to India - Posts moved to a new thread.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by pranavt

There was only one company that I trusted to handle them. DHL.

What about FedEx? Is there any reason you've left them off this list?

Originally Posted by pranavt

Also, as soon as the items are shipped, you will be contacted by the shipping company to upload your KYC details. Do not delay that.

Good point! This gives you more time in case something doesn't line up.

Also another point perhaps worth mentioning is that no changes to the address etc will be possible after the package reaches India. Apparently until then, changes are possible (sometimes for a fee).

Originally Posted by pranavt

Don't really know why a month-old post is bumped to the front page of the site when the query has been answered.

It's not only about answering just 1 person's question, but also about providing that useful information to a wider audience for whom the same info could be valuable either now or in the future. Ideally, yes, it should have featured on the homepage earlier, but this was only highlighted & split to a new thread very recently.

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

All they ask for is an alternative document and the "rent agreement' works fine.

True... though some people do not have a rent agreement or even any other officially specified document. Hence mentioned it just as something to take care of from day 1 if possible, rather than having to resolve it later on.

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

Your point (1) and (10) implies that a person cannot expect a shipment on any other address than the one on aadhaar and that is not true.

Maybe I've gone hard on this point because I had a bad experience once with a product from Amazon Spain, ordered to a temporary address. Though I have not said it's not possible -- just that it can become a pain (ie. additional documentation / NOCs etc). Will edit my original post to clarify further

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

What about FedEx? Is there any reason you've left them off this list?

Got burned by them one too many times. Delayed deliveries, not delivering after it was marked as "Out for delivery", getting parts stuck in customs and them throwing their hands up in the air and not helping out, etc. They once delivered a shipment worth 120k INR to the wrong address and made me run around for 3 hours before accepting their mistake. DHL was faultless every time. I've had their customs liaison and account rep (Ms. Kamiya Solanki) contact me when one of my packages was held up for bureaucratic reasons (customs officer was not ready to believe the quoted price on the invoice); verified the payment details on my end, went to bat for me against the customs officer and had the shipment delivered on the same day after resolving the issue. YMMV, in case of both DHL and Fedex. However, I'd personally trust India Post over Fedex at this point.

[Doge]

I recently imported a watch through Japan and DHL made it very seamless. Received the watch on 4 days of ordering and they took care of the KYC and customs clearance. No extra charges or any surprises too, the over all process was very smooth and fast. Just make sure that your shipping address is exactly the same as your address on your ID.

[Rehaan]

Have updated the 2nd post to link to the official ICEGATE Customs Duty calculator.

This is WAY better and more detailed than other sites I used to refer to.

Only problem is that the interface/usability is quite bad, so there's a bit of a learning curve there.

1) Visit: https://www.old.icegate.gov.in/Webap...ide-on-Imports
2) Do NOT search by "Description" text - it will stall you forever on the waiting screen
3) Enter first 4 digits of the HSN, select the country and proceed



4) You'll be shown a list, double click on the line-item that is the closest matches the item you're importing

5) That will lead you to a screen like this which gives you the full break up of everything:



5) You can even enter your assessable value in the box at the bottom-center (I've entered 1,00,000 here) and it will show you the exact expected amounts payable as per the duties for that HSN.

6) If the rates look scary in the example above, it's because I've chosen a very generic HSN that pretty much has the highest duties & taxes possible. Though be warned, there's also a good chance you'll be slapped with this HSN if you don't specify any HSN on your invoice.