Returning with stuff from USA. How ?

cha_indian

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I would be returing back to India and would like to bring back AV stuff. Luckily Best buy is nearby. Looking forward to your suggestions and safe way to bring stuff in luggage. I saw Def Tech, B&W and some Polk Audio which are prices pretty low compared to India.

Looking forward to your suggestions.
 
Suggestions will depend on your specific needs. In general terms buy stuff that is easy to bring and stuff that you like after auditioning. AVR, media player, DAC etc, not bulky things.
 
Buy it and then ship using LCL if its a lot / heavy. You will be able to ship lots of stuff quite cheap. If you are transferring residence, then I think the duty will be 10% or so. Not only things are more expensive in India, but most times, these are not available there.
 
I have been going through the same here. Where are you located in USA? Bestbuy is the worst place to buy any stuff, unless it is discounted 50% or more.

What is your budget? What kind of setup are you interested in?

My recommendations:
BIG no to HTIB(just want to make sure you don't this on your list)

Electronics, electronics, electronics (buy as many electronics your money can buy, electronics are very expensive in India but you have to deal with voltage conversion, still worth the effort). Recommendations really depend on your interest, is it going to be a HT setup or Stereo audio or what kind of features are you looking at?

But I believe, an AVR does need to be on your list, as you will be having atleast a couple of video devices, like STB and at the least DVD player.

Speakers : don't look at common brands like POLK, Def Tech, Monitor audio, etc, most of the brands are available at very competitive prices in India, if you factor in shipping, effort and risk, they are not worth it. Then what, go for specialty brands like SALK, Swan, GoldenEar , Zu Audio, Ascend, vandersteen, Philarmonic, EMPTek, etc.

Budget( just for the speakers):
< $2000 : brands to look at, Ascend, Swan, Emptek
> $2000: Salk, Philharmonic, Vandersteen, zu, GoldenEar

I would recommend atleast go for Ascend, Ascend SQ is the best compared to other common brands like polk, monitor audio, def tech, etc and price is very comparable. I liked the Monitor Audio bronze series but you can find those in India very competitive rates.

my 2 cents but I am not a audiophile though, I just barely started couple of months ago, so bear that in mind before taking my recommendations.
 
Shipping LCL is the best option if you have stuff of atleast 50CFT. If claim Change of residence, 15% is the import duty on electronics upto 5Lacs worth and for the first piece, anything over that will be 35%. Even if you have stuff less than 5Lacs and you have 2 pieces of same electronics, the second one will be charged 35% duty.
 
Shipping LCL is the best option if you have stuff of atleast 50CFT. If claim Change of residence, 15% is the import duty on electronics upto 5Lacs worth and for the first piece, anything over that will be 35%. Even if you have stuff less than 5Lacs and you have 2 pieces of same electronics, the second one will be charged 35% duty.
One small clarification needed.

When you say two pieces of electronics does it mean that 2 pieces of same model items (like two peices of Marantz SR6006) or two pieces of electronics in the same category (Let us say Marantz SR6006 and a Denon AVR3310)

The reason why I ask is.. I am planning to bring the HT (Marantz SR 6006 with KEF speakers and a B&W sub) as well as HiFi (Classe CP-800, CA-2100 and AG Strada with another AG TR-3 sub)

Do you think I will be still with 10% or some will gather 35%?
Do let me know
 
I am interested in only Audio and definitely not a HTiB or Video equipment. The price of B&W speakers in india is 90K and here in best buy it is 40k.... very tempting!!
 
Two pieces of same category - even if specs are different. So taking an example of AVR, if you have Marantz AVR and Denon AVR, it will be treated as two AVRs and one of them will be charged with higher duty.

Special duty of 10% is only in case of "Transfer of Residence (TR)" and not otherwise. You have to fill the TR form and all that. Check with the India Customs website on rules and regulations.

In my humble opinion, don't buy stuff that requires 110V/60Hz to 220V/50Hz conversion. It will be a pain in the house with many transformers and stuff that will accumulate dust and mites. Cleaning will be a hell of a job. Order these from special websites such as 220 volts electronics - Code Free DVD Player reviews, Voltage converter guide, Multi system lcd plasma tv multisystem home theater where you can get 220V stuff to your US address and then ship them to India.
 
I agree with just4kix but again it depends, as per rules, you can have one HT and one stereo, you can argue one is for the HT and other for the stereo. If really one were a HT 7.1 AVR and other was a stereo I don't think it is too hard to convince the officer. I am having the same kind of setup, which I will be shipping to India soon. But my case I have one Denon 3312 for the HT and for the stereo I have 3 componenets, 2 channel amp, 2.1 prepro and a network audio player(this doesn't have any video out).

I am hoping I will be able to convince the officer.

Yes, it does makes sense to avoid buying 110/60 electronics but lot of American brand electronics are not available in India or the website just4kix provided. And if you go with regular brands like Denon or others, you will be paying the MSRP and I think it is still good bargain. And again you will not find all models and brands in the 220V. There are some options for custom brands like AVA(Audio by Van Alstine) where you have to pay a little premium and they will custom build for you with a 220v.

cha_indian what is your budget? Where are you located in USA? did you audition B&W?
If your budget is anywhere near $2000 for the speakers, I would highly recommend SALK, try to find someone in your city with the SALK speakers at audiocircle.com, lot of people allow/invite you to audition them in their home. Or you can email Jim Salk, the owner and designer of the speakers, he will try to hook you up for a demo at one of his customers home.

And anyone planning to ship LCL to India, don't forget to add couple of sub woofers from internet brands like Rythmic, HSU, SVS, etc. They are the best/highest value for the money and Sub Woofers are very very expensive in India.
 
and end up with such a customs officer. :indifferent14:



Read the post linked above.

I wish you both good luck and hope everything goes on well but, having experienced first hand, wanted to forewarn.

Wow, Captain. So sad that you had to go through all this, for a genuine import case. It really shows how our govt hasn't progressed after all the progress our country has made. Kudos to you for leading and seeing this through.
 
Wow, Captain. So sad that you had to go through all this, for a genuine import case. It really shows how our govt hasn't progressed after all the progress our country has made. Kudos to you for leading and seeing this through.

Thanks Manoj. I'm actually happy that this whole thing came to a happy end. I would've felt miserable had something gone wrong and resulted in broken dreams, even if they do not add up to a thousand. I therefore held myself from doing anything silly.

Crux of the problem IMO is because of lack of accountability. Even if a babu does something wrong, he goes scot free unless made to be nailed by the aggrieved through judiciary. Knowing how painfully slow and expensive (read time and money) the process is, it is not hard to imagine how many would go that way.
 
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captain, I am reading through that thread, there is one exceptional difference between our case and yours, at least my case is different, I am claiming TR(transfer of residence) and my shipment includes all my current household goods as well(cloths, kitchen, beds, TV, everything in my home). But you never know what can happen, so just HOPE.

In any case, yours is a special case and TR is common.

Your ordeal is very interesting, If I may ask, what was your shipment size and cost of shipping?
 
@Blackscorpio, you are right both are truly different but my point is, the inspecting officer is the same. My point was just to say, beware. BTW, Cha_Indian's case is not TR I guess. Correct me if I'm wrong.

FYI the consignment was on two pallets of about 4' x 4' x 4.6" and about 1600 lbs and the whole cost was about 16.5k USD.

Edit:

I'm told that this particular person is a known terrorist amongst the importer community. FYI, I saw even some suitcases gathering dust and even the bikes that I was referring to appeared used to me and likely to have been brought across on TR. The whole ramble is not to create panic but to buttress the fact that due diligence is the order of the day.
 
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You can carry electronics worth Rs1,50,000 (with reduced custom duty) if you are transferring your house hold goods after staying in the US for a period of not less than two years -
Welcome to NamastheNRI.com

I would suggest buying the higher end audiophile electronics which are hard to find in India.
Best Buy isn't the best place to shop if you are looking out for cost savings.
 
captain, I want to know the shipping charges not the shipment cost. TIA.

vivek, there you go another number for the limit. That's the Indian law. so far, researching last couple of months, I have got 10 different answers from 9 people, yes 9 people, about the customs regulations and customs duty percentage. Looks like your website content is outdated, please check the customs website. Thanks.
 
captain, I understand you are speaking from your experience. And even if cha_indian is not claiming a TR, it would be totally different from your specific case. In cha_indian case it won't be a import of goods even if he goes for LCL shipment. If he carries with him as checked in baggage more good.

Yes, due diligence will avoid lot of problems ahead. For more information on carrying stuff from USA, not importing, read r2iclub forums. You will have better understanding of do's and don'ts, how to avoid customs problems by declaring everything upfront.
 
A friend of mine is travelling to US and has a few questions regarding customs duty:
1) What is the permissible limit for which duty will not be charged?
2) What is the rate at which customs duty will be charged if he exceeds the limit?

Thanks in advance :)
 
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