Here
is an interesting piece of information I discovered last week in conversation
with a friend who routinely does online shopping. Inherently all of us are
looking for a good deal and we don't really care where the goods come from. If
you are shopping from a foreign site, usually for fragrances and cosmetics, you
are most likely to get a good deal. You pay by your card and the goods are
shipped either by post or courier. So
far so good.
If
your shipment tracker informs you that your shipment has arrived in India and
is handed over for customs clearance, you may be in for a bit of trouble.
Apparently there is a rule that you cannot import anything into the country by
post or air for personal use worth more than Rs. 2000/- (including freight and
insurance) unless it is a gift or a sample (both of which you have not paid
for) in which case the limit is Rs. 10,000/-. If you do so your goods will be
liable to confiscation or you will be liable to pay duty and penalty which can
be Rs. 5000/-. Furthermore if you do not claim it within 15 days, the goods
will be disposed by auction. Basically it means that you need to have necessary
permits to import goods over a certain value or to do it through someone who
has them.
Not
many would be aware of this rule. None of your shipments may have even been
intercepted. But if they do come under checking, you will receive a letter from
the customs authorities to present yourself for appraisal and examination of your
shipment. You will be asked to bring along a whole lot of documents of which
you may have only the copy of the invoice and shipment advice. Once at the
customs office the shipment will be opened in your presence, examined and it
will be determined as to whether duty is to be levied as well as penalty. If
you are living in Mumbai or any of the cities where the appraisal and
examination is conducted at the inbound airport, you are lucky. If you are
living at a distance which will consume at least half a day of travel or more,
you may have to decide whether to pursue your shipment based on its value or
let it be put up for auction.
But
apparently there is a way out of this. The rule is applicable on per shipment
basis and not on the total value you import in a year. So as long as each of
your shipment is less than Rs. 2000/- (CIF), you are doing good. So if you are
buying multiple items from a single foreign website and the value is exceeding
Rs. 2000/- make sure you split it into multiple shipments. You may lose out on
the free shipping and may also have to bear extra shipping, but it will save
you a lot of money and trouble once the goods are in the country.
Another
interesting observation is that goods shipped by express delivery are far more
likely to be examined than those by ordinary shipping. Many will tell you that
that they have received their shipments through ordinary post with a demand for
customs duty attached to it and the postman collects it from you at your
doorstep. Guess it's a matter of luck.
So the next time you shop online at a foreign
website make sure to check the import rules and the limits beforehand.