Importing A Vehicle from a Foreign Country? Here's What to Know

Importing vehicles from several globally acclaimed brands like Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, MV Agusta, Lamborghini, Ducati and others will take a lot of time and energy. Many vehicles from these brands are unavailable in our country and hence enthusiasts prefer importing them. The Indian Government encourages local production of vehicles. Since import duties are higher, companies are discouraged from importing all models in the form of CBUs (Completely Built Units). They instead prefer to assemble locally as CKDs (Completely Knocked Down). However, if you are okay with spending a bomb on import and customs duties, then you can choose to follow this blueprint.

Key provisions that you should always keep in mind:

1. The DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) has laid out the guidelines for imports of foreign cars. The imported cars are those which are not produced by Indian carmakers and also do not come under the leasing/sold/loaned segments before being imported.
2. They should not be registered with any foreign country before being imported and speedometers in these vehicles should follow Km/h metric units.
3. Controls and steering should be on the right hand side in case of cars. The headlamps should offer keep left traffic in the country. The car should be imported from the manufacturer's home nation. If any other country is used for storage, then the documentation should be available for shipment tracking till India.
4. The car should comply with the 1988 Motor Vehicle Act of India.
5. If imported through a dealer or importer, the vehicle should be properly homologated with inspection certificate adhering to rule number 126 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules of 1989. The road-worthiness certificate should be given likewise.
6. Written proof should be there for complying with manufacturing rules as per 126A of the Act. This should be submitted within 6 months of the import.
7. Imports are only allowed through customs ports of Nhava Sheva in Mumbai, Delhi Air Cargo, Cochin, Kolkata, Chennai and Tughlaqabad Inland Container Depot.
8. Some categories of importers are only allowed to import a single vehicle. Indian companies with foreign branches or participation may import up to three vehicles.
9. Imported vehicles will have exemptions from homologation if they are cars with petrol engines of 3,000 cc or more or diesel engines of 2,500 cc or more. They can also be superbikes with engines above 800 cc for qualifying.
10. Vehicles with FOB or CIF values of $40000 or more are also exempted.
11. However, these vehicles will require the authorized testing agency certification including from those like NCAP, ECE and others.
12. The import duties applying on luxury cars is 165% of this CIF value and for bikes it is 116% of the CIF value. Registration costs of RTOs will be applicable as per State Government regulations too.

These are some points that you should keep in mind before importing foreign cars.