[TurboGTR]

Haroon: I understand what you are saying about the lower than actual dealer specials. Since you want to import from the Middle East, I don't think KBB or NADA would work since Indian Customs ideally require a document showing the price when new in the country of manufacture (For example, you would need a Japanese price for a used Yamaha).
However, if you are importing from a country (where you purchased and registered the bike) which is different from the country of manufacture, you could submit a price list/manufacturer's invoice showing the value when new in the country of purchase.
I would recommend you try to procure a dealer/manufacturer price list in your country for the year it was first sold that clearly shows the make, model, year and price in that country's currency.
You could also try submitting the discounted value dealer's invoice since there is a chance that that value may be considered as the MSRP by Indian Customs.

Manson: I have the Valuation Sheet with me and will post the breakup soon.
About your friend, if he can prove he has been residing in that country for atleast 2 years and engaged in a profession there, he should not have a problem. It is very important that he owns the bike for atleast a year in that country.
I believe the whole basis for TR is that he should be giving up his residence in that country to return to India. He can, however, travel abroad again (I think there was a restriction on this earlier, but that rule has been amended).

[captrajesh]

Originally Posted by gr8guzzler

I found a similar query on indiabike.com.....hope this helps..

[font=Verdana][size=2]PRAMOD JAMPALA question: How can I import a vehicle from USA to India? Are there any mechanics capable of repairing an imported bike in india

Indiabike's answer: IF BIKE IS BRAND NEW, THEN IMPORT DUTY (IMPORT TAX) IS ABOUT 80% OF INVOICE VALUE. HOWEVER, IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A BIKE IN USA WHICH YOU CAN LEAGALLY PROVE TO HAVE OWNED AND USED FOR OVER A YEAR (THE BIKE IS REGISTERED IN YOUR NAME AS PROVED BY REGISTRATION AND INSURANCE PAPERS), AND IF YOU HAVE PAID INCOME TAX IN USA, THEN YOU CAN BRING IT IN WITHOUT IMPORT TAX AS PERSONAL GOODS UNDER "TRANSFER OF RESIDENCE' RULES, IN WHICH CASE YOU CANNOT LEGALLY SELL THE BIKE IN INDIA FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR. [/size][/font]

That is correct but the stay period has now been changed to two years.

Originally Posted by ashwingop

WoW that is great news....can anyone confirm this for me....I plan to own a lot of bikes in the future and would like to bring all of them back to India one by one.

Wishful thinking. Asw far as I know, you can only bring one.

Originally Posted by prabhuav

Disclaimer - not all that I am saying here will be completely legal -

Very simple - take the title of your car and make a high quality scan image of the same. Using a good editor plonk in the engine and frame numbers on to the image.
Make sure that the ownership dates are at least a year old
Make sure that you put in the bike as a Harley that is over 7 years old (this way you get all the depreciation) Get a high quality print. Now you have a title to show the customs guy . You can always tell them that you had to surrender the original at the US DMV. I did that as my shipper needed the title to clear the export of my bike in Florida and sent my original title to my US address where I no longer lived. hence when it came to customs time all I had was a xerox. Now if a xerox works, so can a modified xerox

Catch yourself a good agent and pay full duty on your "Harley" , and voila you have completely clean paperwork in India

This, my friend is not just "completely legal" but "completely illegal.

[shrini78]

Originally Posted by manson

Good stuff there GTR. Could you also fill us on what was the exact amount of import duty (including penalties if any) turned out to be for your R6, and the road tax?
I myself have calculated numbers on paper a lot of times, but it would be great to know what you actually landed up paying.

Another thing, someone I know is working overseas. He holds an Indian passport, and definitely lives less than 180 days in India. Does he legally qualify to import his motorcycle to India even if he does not come back for good?

manson.

This is the catch manson,
you cannot import a brand new bike under ToR, as in you shold have held under your possession for more than a year...
You can get one ToR per person or a family once in every 3 years.
If you friend imports a vehicle Dec31,2010 under ToR then he should have stayed less than 180 days in the past 2 years in India. His another ToR can be done after Dec 31,2013...Who know how the law will change in 3 yrs between

[Haroon]

As for TR (Transfer of Residence), an NRI is eligible to claim that once in 2 years and as per the present rules, it is not necessary that you have to come back to India for good. After you claim your TR, you can still go back and continue with your work in that same country. But the provision of bringing 1 car OR 1 motorcycle is only once in your lifetime.

As for trying to import on another namesake NRIs name, I had read recently about the Mumbai High Court giving a judgement in a case where a certain Toyota car was imported under the name/passport of an Indian labourer working in Dubai. In the order the high court has stated that ‘‘if the importer is a person who has lived abroad continuously for two years, then he or she must necessarily be the owner of the vehicle’’.

[TurboGTR]

Sorry for the delay in posting this but here goes:

Valuation break-up of Customs duty for a 2006 Yamaha R6S (first registration in Nov 2005):

Period of Use Abroad: 3 Years, 8 Months and 9 Days = 44% depreciation

Net Price: $8199.00

Less 15% Trade Discount: $1229.85
Less 44% Depreciation for use abroad: $3066.43

Insurance @ 1.125%: $43.91

Net Worth: $3946.63

Estimated Freight: $250.00

C.I.C. Value: $4196.63
C.I.F. Value: INR 1,98,080.94

Landing Charges @ 1%: INR 1980.81

Assessable Value: INR 2,00,062.00 (Rounded from 2,00,061.75)

Ad Hoc Depreciation (for damages): INR 0.00
Reconditioning: INR 0.00
Spare Parts: INR 0.00
Personal Effects: INR 0.00

Total Assembled Value: INR 2,00,062.00

Total Customs Duty @ 130% + Misc. Duties: INR 2,62,823.00

Road Tax in Goa: 7% of Total Assembled Value (2,00,062.00) + Customs Duty Paid (2,62,823.00) = 7% of 4,62,885.00 = INR 32,397.61

Registration in Goa: INR 60.00

Fine for no Temporary Registration from the State of Maharashtra: INR 2000.00

Hope this helps!

Cheers!

[Haroon]

Thanks TurboGTR for your post.
This is surely as best as the customs duty/registration costs can be explained.

One last question to all- Is it compulsory for bikes brought down on TR to be Euro-3 or Euro-4 emission compliant? Is any one of them acceptable or does it have to be the Euro-4 only?

[TurboGTR]

Thank you Haroon!

About your question, I don't think there is any restriction with regard to meeting any emissions norms for used imported motorcyles.
You could also come to this conclusion based on the fact that a motorcycle brought to India on TR does not need to be homologated by the ARAI, since it a personal import and not a commercial one.

[advith3010]

Hi,

I am in New York for 2 years now and will complete my 3rd year by the end of August,2012. I want to come back to Bangalore(India) for good by the time I complete my 3 years here. With a passion for superbike's all through my life, I want to import one from here when I move to India. I see that I would be eligible for Transfer of Residency(TR) but I am not sure if I want to use that for the following reasons:

1. I want to import a NEW 1 liter bike to Bangalore. I have heard that you got to have the bike in your possession for 1 year's time for you make use of TR. Is this 1 year clause based on the engine capacity of the bike?
2. The reason why I want a NEW bike is:
a> Firstly, the customs duty on a NEW bike is much lower(close to 110% if I am right and used ones is 140%).
b> I will have to start paying insurance from the time I buy the bike till the time I leave the US which is pretty expensive, especially for bikes.

I see pretty good deals on e-bay where dealerships are selling NEW bikes(bikes that remained unsold in 2010/2011) at a much lower price than the official price for a NEW bike. They say they sell it to a worldwide customer base too. I was thinking of buying one of these beauties from e-bay and getting it shipped to India.

Now the following questions arise as to whether I should make use of TR for importing my bike
1. Is there any advantage of making use of TR in importing the bike?
2. Is the custom duty any different for bikes imported on TR to the ones that are not? Please elaborate.
3. Also, if the use of TR proves to be advantageous in importing a NEW bike(but there is a tab on the engine capacity of the bike that is imported), I don't mind importing a NEW 600/750 cc bike if the cost is significantly lower.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and Regards,
Adviteeya

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by advith3010

Hi,

I don't mind importing a NEW 600/750 cc bike if the cost is significantly lower.

Thanks and Regards,
Adviteeya

Why would you want to import a liter bike when many of them are available right of the shelf? Agree 600 CC class is yet to mature as you currently get only the Kwacker but come september Triumph should be able to give you a couple more options.

If you are still keen on importing a bike, do read Shrini78's thread where he has described his importing travails.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...-bike-usa.html

PS: Not quite sure if they allow a brand new bike to be imported.

[advith3010]

Thank you so much for your reply MK. I did go through Srini's post too. Very imformative. Thank you Srini. I hope you are enjoying your bike rides.

The reason why I want to import one from here is because I think it would be a lot cheaper. Please correct me if I am wrong. Based on TurboGTR's post where he has imported an R6, I have calculated how much it may cost to import an R1.

Say I get a bike at 10000 USD and it is a 2011 bike(Brand new with 0 miles on it since they remain unsold).
Let me break it into 3 scenarios:

1. With Depreciation and Trade Discount:
I get a depreciation of 3 quarters in 2012 and 4 quarters in 2011(I am assuming they give me a depreciation since the bike, even though brand new is 1 year old(2011 model))

Depreciation:
2012 - 12%
2011 - 12%

Net Price: is 14000 USD

Less 15% Trade Discount: 2100 USD
Less 24% Depreciation: 3360 USD

Net Worth: 14000 - 2100 - 3360 = 8540 USD

Estimated freight : 250 USD

C.I.C. Value: 8790 USD
C.I.F. Value: INR 430710

Landing Charges @ 1%: INR 4307

Assessable Value: INR 435017

Ad Hoc Depreciation (for damages): INR 0.00
Reconditioning: INR 0.00
Spare Parts: INR 0.00
Personal Effects: INR 0.00

Total Assembled Value: INR 435017

Total Customs Duty @ 80% + Misc. Duties: INR 348,013.68 (I am assuming this is the customs duty on a new bike)

Road Tax in Goa: 7% of Total Assembled Value (24360) + Customs Duty Paid (348013.68) = INR 372,3747

Registration in Bangalore(Assuming it is similar to Goa): INR 60.00

Fine for no Temporary Registration from the State of Tamil Nadu(Assuming I will get the customs cleared at Chennai and then get the bike to Bangalore): INR 2000.00

Total Customs + Registration: 374,434

Bike cost: 10000 USD ~= 500000 INR

Total Cost: 874,434 INR - In this case, I think it is totally worth it to import a one liter bike from here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Without Depreciation and Trade Discount:

Net Worth: 14000 USD
Estimated freight : $250

C.I.C. Value: 14250 USD
C.I.F. Value: INR 698250

Landing Charges @ 1%: INR 6982.50

Assessable Value: INR 705,232

Ad Hoc Depreciation (for damages): INR 0.00
Reconditioning: INR 0.00
Spare Parts: INR 0.00
Personal Effects: INR 0.00

Total Assembled Value: INR 705,232

Total Customs Duty @ 80% + Misc. Duties: INR 564186

Road Tax in Goa: 7% of Total Assembled Value (39493) + Customs Duty Paid (564186) = INR 603679

Registration in Bangalore(Assuming it is similar to Goa): INR 60.00

Fine for no Temporary Registration from the State of Tamil Nadu(Assuming I will get the customs cleared at Chennai and then get the bike to Bangalore): INR 2000.00

Total Customs + Registration: 605739 INR

Bike cost: 10000 USD ~= 500000 INR

Total Cost: 1105739 - Still will save about 3.5 lakhs

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Without Depreciation, with Trade Discount:

Net Price is 14000 USD
Less 15% Trade Discount: 2100 USD
Net Worth: 14000 - 2100 = 11900 USD
estimated freight : 250 USD

C.I.C. Value: 12150 USD
C.I.F. Value: INR 595350

Landing Charges @ 1%: INR 5953.50

Assessable Value: INR 601303.50

Ad Hoc Depreciation (for damages): INR 0.00
Reconditioning: INR 0.00
Spare Parts: INR 0.00
Personal Effects: INR 0.00

Total Assembled Value: INR 601303.50

Total Customs Duty @ 80% + Misc. Duties: INR 481042.8

Road Tax in Goa: 7% of Total Assembled Value (33672.996) + Customs Duty Paid (481042.8) = INR 514715.8

Registration in Bangalore(Assuming it is similar to Goa): INR 60.00

Fine for no Temporary Registration from the State of Tamil Nadu(Assuming I will get the customs cleared at Chennai and then get the bike to Bangalore): INR 2000.00

Total Customs + Registration: 516,775.8 INR

Bike cost: 10000 USD ~= 500000 INR

Total Cost: 1016775 INR - In this case, I still save about 4.5 lakhs.

Please correct me wherever I am wrong. I really appreaciate it.

[pandabear]

hi advith, can you update us as to what happened since feb 2012, did you manage to import your bike and which calculation proved right?

[creative420]

So a biker friend of mine is moving back to India. He's got a 2007 BMW F650. He wants to sell it off. I've asked him to hold on. Do you think it's a good idea to get it here? Pristine condition. And although he hasn't quoted any price...the websites in UK suggest 3000 pounds as ideal price. Good deal?

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by creative420

So a biker friend of mine is moving back to India. He's got a 2007 BMW F650. He wants to sell it off. I've asked him to hold on. Do you think it's a good idea to get it here? Pristine condition. And although he hasn't quoted any price...the websites in UK suggest 3000 pounds as ideal price. Good deal?

The price indicated seems to be OK (new one is around GBP 9K) . If he as owned it for more than 2 years in his name, the duty element would be about 93% (for TR as confirmed by a major customs clearance house in Mumbai) on the depreciated value (Depreciation @ 4% per quarter).

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[Nicky]

Hello All,
I am currently in Germany. I am planning to buy a used superbike here like Suzuki Z800 or something similar. Approx. cost would be 3000 Euro.
I will be coming back to India in Mid 2015. Shipping wont be a problem as i will be getting container for shipment.

as per customs law is it possible to get this bike to India along with me?
what taxes and / or duties i will have to pay?
registration would be done in Maharashtra.

regards;
komal

[Haroon]

Its a long process but I shall summarize it in as simple terms as I can (from my own experience in Jan 2014). Anyways this has been discussed in great detail in the following thread by fellow member- Shrini78. So if you have any more specific questions, you should find most of the answers in this attached post:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superb...-bike-usa.html


Prelude:
Used superbikes (to include supersports, cruisers, dirt, adventure tourers etc) can ONLY be imported by an NRI on Transfer of Residence (TR). I think foreign nationals working in India are also allowed to bring in their bike under a similar category but I dont know the specifics. Regular resident Indians CAN NOT import a used bike. They can ONLY import a new bike. Customs and cess etc for new bike will work out to about 106% (customs is about 80%)

First Step:
-The NRI should have continuously owned the bike for atleast 1 year abroad and then he is allowed to bring it under TR (Transfer of Residence- That means you can not avail this facility more than once within a span of 3 years (the customs just writes it in your passport you have availed TR). So after importing, you can immediately go back to the foreign country and continue to work as usual and continue your NRI status)
-So then you ship the bike to the seaport of your choice- Mumbai, Cochin or Chennai

Second Step:
-You furnish all the export docs including your shipping invoice, shipping insurance and other details of the bike including your original purchase invoice to customs.
-Customs will inspect the bike and then determine the original cost of bike as per model year. They have a value book and also refer to the internet and come with the exact price. Here its key your clearing agent knows his job well & knows how the correct & best value is arrived at (its better not to fool around/bribe with customs for a artificially lowered price as it will be a headache for you later if DRI checks the values). The customs give depreciation (max 70% depending on how many years old the bike is- The depreciation structure has been explained somewhere in the above attached thread.
-There is a 15% trade discount also they allow on the original price of the bike
-Based on all the above, the figure is arrived at. They then add the shipping and insurance cost that you have incurred and then arrive at the 'assesed value'
-The customs duty and some education/higher education cess etc all works out to 136% of the assesed value for used bike.
-You have to pay the customs duty thru the ICEGATE portal online ONLY. No DD or cash etc
-After that they release the bike to you with the Customs Payment Receipt in which it is clearly written 'that you can not sell the bike for 2 years'. Before that they enter in your passport also that you have availed TR.

Note: I have explained in simple steps, but in reality you have to go to various offices probably on various floors of the customs building the same day, meet various officers, various assistants, warehouse, security etc...takes anything from 4-7 working days or more

Third Step:
-You have to take the customs documents, ID and address proof etc and first do a temporary insurance based on the vehicle VIN number (since you dont have a registration number yet)
-Then take this insurance policy, ID, customs payment document, forms etc and submit to RTO
-RTO/Transport department will assess the total value of the bike and tell you the Road Tax/Life Tax to be paid depending on your state.
-You make a DD and submit to RTO
-Then RTO will send a copy of your customs payment document thru the route of their 'govt snail post' to the relevant customs office (where you cleared your bike) for verification.
-The Customs office has to verify and confirm directly back to RTO 'Yes, the receipt you furnished is correct and thats the exact amount of duty you paid'. You may need your clearing agents help in speeding up the process at the customs end.
-Once RTO receives back the confirmation thru the 'govt snail mail', then the RTO will issue the registration certificate/number plate

Note: This RTO process can take anything from 3 weeks to 3 months or more....

AND THEN YOU FIX THE INDIAN NUMBER PLATE AND RIDE INTO THE HORIZON!