Published on December 6, 2020. EST READ TIME: 4 MIN
Nothing worth having comes easy. The adage quite accurately describes the situation if you wish to drive a foreign car in India. If you fancy owning a magnificent foreign car, then you can experience that joy only after you go through the time-taking procedure needed to import it. Since the rules in India are quite stringent in comparison to other countries, you would have to fulfil all the terms and conditions to live your dream.
1. Who Can Import Commercial Vehicles in India?
A foreign national/NRI who has not been residing in India for at least 2 years before the import and has owned a vehicle for at least a year. The legal heirs of a deceased person who died abroad and left a vehicle to their successor. Any physically-challenged individual, any business firm existing in India that have foreign equity participation, any foreign business firm with a branch office in our country, any religious, missionary, or charitable trust that is legally registered and adhere to the rules laid down by the State or Central Government, and Ministry of External Affairs recommended Honorary Consuls. Lastly, any scribe having the Press Information Bureau accreditation can import a commercial vehicle.
2. What are the things to consider before importing a car into India?
The import duty on cars is quite high. You may have to pay approximately 165% of the vehicles’ cost, freight (CIF) value, and insurance fee as import duty.
Then comes the process of registration. You need to get it registered at the nearest Regional Transport Office or RTO. This would mean an additional registration fee and road tax.
Now that you have spent so much on the car, you would have to safeguard it with a comprehensive foreign car insurance or acommercial vehicle insurance (depending on the type). It will save you from major financial losses in case of an accident.
3. What is the procedure for importing a foreign car?
The car should have been built or assembled outside the country and it can only be imported from the country where it was manufactured.
The vehicle should be a right-hand drive and its headlights should be able to illuminate the left side of the road. Its speedometer must reflect the speed in kilometres and not miles.
Lastly, importing a car is allowed only through naval docks situated in Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
In case you wish to import a used car, there are some additional rules like the manufacturing year of the car shouldn’t be more than 3 years and it should possess a roadworthiness certificate with a validity of a minimum of 5 years. Either new or pre-owned, the car should not be leased or loaned at the time of importing. Ensure that the vehicle does not fall under the category of banned cars in India as the import of cars whose engine capacity ranges from 1000 to 2500cc is banned. The car must conform to the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The next major step is documentation. You would need to furnish invoice of the car, insurance policy, GATT declaration, bank draft, import license, Bill of Lading or Sea Waybill, purchase order, test report, DEEC (Duty Exemption Entitlement Certificate) / DEPB (Duty Entitlement Passbook) / ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India) or any other documents that authorities may ask for.
Conclusion
If you are a car lover and wish to own a masterpiece that is not available in India, you can import it given you are willing to go through the long process and fulfil all the conditions. You may seek assistance from a car dealer, but you should also be well-aware of the guidelines to ensure that will be done smoothly.And buying foreign car insurance and commercial vehicle insurance online will save you from financial losses in case of any damage to the vehicle.
Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.
This blog has been written by
S. Gopalakrishnan | Motor Insurance Expert | 40+ years of experience in insurance industry
A veteran in insurance industry. S. Gopalakrishnan is a name to reckon with in the field of reinsurance, he has headed the Reinsurance department and has rich experience in other fields of motor insurance. He loves to share his opinion on latest topics in the insurance industry and how he can help people in safeguarding their assets using insurance products.
Mr. S.Gopalakrishnan recommends "HDFC ERGO for your vehicle insurance needs, it has always put customer’s interest at the forefront, with round the clock assistance to deal with emergency breakdown issues and hassle free claims process. You can be assured of complete and reliable guidance through the whole process."
Few other articles:
-
Driving innovation: How self-driven cars will transform our world?
-
How do I get the best deal on car insurance?
-
Tips to Reduce Car Insurance Renewal Cost
