I want to find out which items are taxable; and what is the current
tax rate for these categories of items if an NRI (Non Resident Indian)
is moving permanently from US to India. I want the answer the
following categories, if needed you can sub categorize these
categories further:
1. Automobiles (cars/bikes)
2. Electronics (TV/Home Theatre System)
3. Computer (Laptops/Computer Components)

Let me know if you need further information.

---

Request for Question Clarification by netcrazy-ga on 19 May 2004 23:25 PDT

Dear mohitgupta,
I'm working on your question and will answer it as soon as I'm done with it.

Thanks
netcrazy

Hello mohitgupta,

Thanks for posting your question.

If you are importing your items as a part of "Transfer of Residence"
(TOR), then the import duty is going to be less. Following is a link
from Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) which clearly provide
you the details about TOR, conditions for TOR and the duty structure -
http://www.cbec.gov.in/cae/customs/info-trvllrs/trans_res.htm

As a part of TOR, duty on home theatre, various electronic items like
VCR, DVD player and so on and many household items like AC, Microwave
oven etc would be 15% provided TOR conditions are met as per the new
rule -
http://www.cbec.gov.in/cae/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k4/cs13-2k4.htm

This following news also mentions the same -
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/412150.cms

For laptop, it is now duty free if it is taken one per adult as TOR ? 
http://www.cbec.gov.in/cae/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k4/cs11-2k4.htm

For importing passenger cars and multi utility vehicles, following
link can give you exact details -
http://www.cbec.gov.in/cae/customs/info-trvllrs/im_pas_crs.htm

But make sure that the passenger car is NOT left hand drive as it may
not be allowed to import.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1630414894.cms

Importing motor vehicles to India -
http://nri.indiainfo.com/faq/import_of_motor_vehicles.html

http://www.namasthenri.com/import/importcar.htm

Also, you can read more details about the latest notifications issued by CBEC - 
http://www.cbec.gov.in/cae/notfns-js(tru)-2k4.htm

Some more links on this topic -
http://www.thokalath.com/baggage/indian_custom_tariff.php

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/473631.cms

Let me know if this helped. In case of any questions, feel free to
request for clarification.

Search Strategy:
Import duty NRI
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=Import+duty+NRI

left hand drive car import NRI
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=left+hand+drive+car+import+NRI&btnG=Search

Thanks
netcrazy

Gave the answer very quickly and with many online references. Good researcher.

You also may want to ask this question in the forum at
http://www.itintl.com.  You can download the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule and a guide on how to use it to figure out everything you
need to know about import duties.

Thanks for the reply, but seems the site you have told is for import
tax if something is being imported in US. I am looking into import tax
if an item is import in India (from US).

Thanks,
Mohit