Need some advice regarding custom duty (when shipping from ebay China seller)

adityavj

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Hi,
I recently won an ebay bid on a Qinpu A3 amplifier for $108 + $48 shipping (Approx Rs 7150). It's a great deal considering the same is available in India for 11k odd. I'm concerned the customs might slap a very high duty on it due to limited knowledge of Qinpu product.

Does anyone have any experience with customs and how to prevent such a situation? I haven't paid for the item yet and can cancel the bid if it turns out custom duties can be really bad.

Your advice and suggestions will be highly appreciated
 
Got my Beresford Caiman shipped from Taiwan recently. The value quoted on the package was 90 USD and I had to pay 14% customs duty ( INR 619/-).

Check if the seller can underquote the value while shipping.

~Swapnil


Hi,
I recently won an ebay bid on a Qinpu A3 amplifier for $108 + $48 shipping (Approx Rs 7150). It's a great deal considering the same is available in India for 11k odd. I'm concerned the customs might slap a very high duty on it due to limited knowledge of Qinpu product.

Does anyone have any experience with customs and how to prevent such a situation? I haven't paid for the item yet and can cancel the bid if it turns out custom duties can be really bad.

Your advice and suggestions will be highly appreciated
 
Hi
Actually, the price isnt that great or rather the India price is good considering that the price includes customs duty, VAT (pls check) and warranty/service.
Expect to pay a couple of thousand for your item as duty. I guess since you have won the item, its too late to buy from the authorized dealer (who I believe is on this forum). If its not too late, I would encourage you to work with the India dealer to figure out if there is a price point that will work for you.

cheers
 
I'd imported a Tube Amp through ebay (Miniwatt OEM version). Ended up paying about 20% of the sale price (excl shipping) as customs duty on it. They asked for a proof of purchase to establish value. I've ordered a fair bit of stuff through ebay over the last couple of years and found customs duty to be a bit of a gamble (for small items, usually nothing. for larger stuff, depends on luck). E.g. - didnt pay any customs duty on a Valab dac (which was more expensive than the tube amp) despite both being shipped through EMS. Typically packages shipped through EMS arrive quicker. Wouldnt trust something like an amp to regular airmail.

p.s. my experience is based on Mumbai customs. other cities may have different practices
 
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When an item is valued more than 100 US $ then only a customs duty is charged on it which could be to the tune of 36% of the consignment value inclusive of the shipping cost. So if your sellers decides to underinvoice it then I think that you should go with it and if luck is on your side then you might pay a very little or no customs duty.
 
Thanks guys, my own experience is also that customs can grossly over-value items. Even if the dealer under-invoices the item. Think I will skip the deal for now.
 
My experience says that if the shipping is done by DHL or UPS, you will have to pay 33% of the declared value on the invoice. If they shipping is by EMS by China post or HK post, then you might not be paying anything at all.

Anyway the chinese guys grosly undervalue the price on the invoice. I am sure the seller will create a invoice of less than USD 45 :) just to reduce the duties.
 
Hi,
I recently won an ebay bid on a Qinpu A3 amplifier for $108 + $48 shipping (Approx Rs 7150). It's a great deal considering the same is available in India for 11k odd. I'm concerned the customs might slap a very high duty on it due to limited knowledge of Qinpu product.

Does anyone have any experience with customs and how to prevent such a situation? I haven't paid for the item yet and can cancel the bid if it turns out custom duties can be really bad.

Your advice and suggestions will be highly appreciated

Even if you pay customs it wont be too much. If its above 25000/- it will attract duty. I checked with a taxation expert - according to him an amplifier attracts 24% customs duty.

Regards
 
I recently purchased some stuff online from Hongkong and it was shipped through EMS. The tracking shows that it has reached Mumbai and has gone underground after that (as usual). I just want to know at what point I will be paying the custom duty (if any)? Will it be on delivery or do I have to send them a cheque or something and then they'll release it from Mumbai?
 
Normally it should be around 33% of items declared value. When send through normal post or EMS your local postman will collect the amount during delivery. If the customs has any doubt about the value of the item or no bill attached along with the package then they will detain the package and intimate you by post. You may have to go to the foreign post office at your city, show your purchase invoice and declare the value of the package in writing. Only after this the package will be cleared. Even in this case your local postman will collect the amount during delivery.
 
I recently purchased some stuff online from Hongkong and it was shipped through EMS. The tracking shows that it has reached Mumbai and has gone underground after that (as usual). I just want to know at what point I will be paying the custom duty (if any)? Will it be on delivery or do I have to send them a cheque or something and then they'll release it from Mumbai?

If any issue with clearence the package will reach Bangalore post office for forieign customs. It is located in Museum road near St Joseph College.

Google Maps
 
Normally it should be around 33% of items declared value. When send through normal post or EMS your local postman will collect the amount during delivery. If the customs has any doubt about the value of the item or no bill attached along with the package then they will detain the package and intimate you by post. You may have to go to the foreign post office at your city, show your purchase invoice and declare the value of the package in writing. Only after this the package will be cleared. Even in this case your local postman will collect the amount during delivery.

Thanks Surendar. That's all I wanted to know. I was worried as there was no phone number mentioned with the billing address. Keeping my fingers crossed now as it's already been more than 10 days now.
 
Customs assumes that invoices are always undervalued. If an item is of less value (<USD100), they don't care. Above that they may claim the value to be 2 to 5 times what is written in the invoice. It's possible to argue with them and convince them (convincing is done by paying under the table :) ). Or else just accept it.
 
If any issue with clearence the package will reach Bangalore post office for forieign customs. It is located in Museum road near St Joseph College.

Google Maps

That's what happened with me. They sent me letter asking for a manufacturer's description of the item and invoice. I replied back via courier and a few days later the postman was at my doorstep with the item and custom's receipt to pay up.
(it was an XBox 360 120gb HDD)
 
Got my Beresford Caiman shipped from Taiwan recently. The value quoted on the package was 90 USD and I had to pay 14% customs duty ( INR 619/-).

Check if the seller can underquote the value while shipping.

~Swapnil
How did you pay customs duty Swapnil? Who collected it? Did you have to go to any office to deposit the customs duty? I'm new in buying from international source and don't know how to pay import duty. Please help
 
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