Importing a TV

CMS

Recently when returning home (to Kerala via Madras airport) from Bangkok, I was shocked to see just how many flat-screen TVs were being "imported" as checked luggage through Chennai airport. Of the 150 people on the flight I would estimate that there were at least 25 cartons of large, flat-screen TVs on the baggage belt. They all seemed to just "walk through" customs with no hassle. Does anyone know what the deal here as TVs are MUCH less expensive (and more up-to-date) from many Far East or Middle East "close-in" destinations!

curtdfw

Totally weird -- During one entry to Delhi in 2006 I was trying to explain the four extra bottles of wine in my carry-on when the immigration folks instead zeroed in on the Indian couple trying to carry through a 42" flat-screen. Thankfully customs quickly lost interest in me...

__________________
"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative" Oscar Wilde

delhiwala

Many people visit Singapore only for importing such stuff only....

They get down from flights head to the market, buy the stuff and return by next flight home...

__________________
Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone. - The Dhammapada

thejag

my sister-in-laws brother-in-law recently returned from the Us and brought home his 42 inch plasma TV with him when he was transferred back to india ... the reason? he already owned it and carting it back to india would anyway be cheaper than buying one in india again.... with so many folks returning to india and also carting their belongings back that is likely a major contributor to the numbers you mentioned... they already own it and even a few hundred dollars is way lower than the minimum 1000/1200 Dollar price tag for a new one in india....

delhiwala the couriers youre describing dont go there to buy just electronics... most widely available stuff is cheaper in india than most other locations anyway...

delhiwala

But I read somewhere that Tamilnadu has a lot of Singapore Shops (even in hinterland) where the goods brought by such couriers are sold...

Haylo

Perfectly legal, as long as it's declared.

Allowances vary with time spent abroad, but if he'd been in the US for over 365 days in the last 2 years, he could have legally imported his used TV into India with an import duty of only 15% of its current value.

__________________
The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful - E.E. Cummings, poet (1894-1962)

Nick-H

Haven't encountered any, although I have encountered "Singapore Shoppe" being used as business name. There's one near us; it is just a general store.

Maybe they keep the plasma TVs under the counter!

thejag

didnt know about the duty but even with the duty and baggage charges id reckon that it would still be cheaper compared to disposing off the old unit in the US (or any other place) and buy a new unit in India.

otherwise importing a new one individually for personal use would definitely be more expensive compared to buying in india...

Haylo

Yes, I was surprised at the price of electronics in India, somehow I'd thought they would be far cheaper.

Ignite

Demand vs. Supply.

Practically all the electronics are imported, and most indian folks just can't afford plasma or lcd screens.

__________________
“Nothing is so aggravating than calmness.” Oscar Wilde

Nattusbs

Here is a new twist on Duty Free Shopping.

I have always said that Indians are not innovative - at least I see that in terms of scientific research - the work is a re-hash of stuff done in the US & elsewhere 10 years ago.

However, when I returned from Seoul via Bangkok on Thai last Friday to Hyderabad - I saw something amazing. A Duty free store after baggage claim but, before customs. Wow - I guess the logic is this. Why buy at a Duty Free shop at the departure airport prior to boarding the flight to India and having to carry the stuff - the Indian govt sets up the duty free store in the manner described and it can be accessed (in theory!) only by incoming international passengers - they do not have to carry the stuff on board the plane and the revenue is kept by the GOI - now they have big items too like LVD TV's which would not have been able to carried on board! This is Indian innovation !

Cheers

Nattusbs

Nick-H

Yes, we have one in Chennai too, but I only noticed consumables like alcohol, perfume, tobacco, chocolate, there. Ours is before the baggage claim. I expect it will expand.

Of course, unless one is a frequent traveller, one would not know what purchases to save for this last-moment shop. It may be a year before I travel internationally again, and I'll certainly be looking to fulfil my shopping list in London!

Another factor is that I returned a faulty item (not electronics, no formal warranty), to a London shop, this June, that I had bought the previous November, with the attitude that if they said I had left it too late to complain, I wouldn't grumble. I was met with an immediate apology, and a ready exchange for a slightly more expensive item. That is unlikely to happen here. Even, I have a small clock I bought in June that has gone wrong. The warranty is two years! It will go back to London on my next visit.

Actually, I may get to visit Singapore next year, now having wife's family there. If I bought something as expensive as a TV, I thnk I would do so with the same attitude I bought my grey-market camera with; like buying second-hand, don't expect service, support, warranty...

dillichaat

Import duty on a new TV is only 10% and they're exempt from special additional duty (excise tax compensation). This way I guess it makes financial sense to buy them abroad and import them, cutting out the middlemen in India. Last time my wife and I flew back to Delhi from Bangkok, it seemed like every third passenger had bought a flatscreen there. And the men in white (customs) were waiting for them.

This is now the standard legally minimum period for warranties in the EC. Over here you can count your blessings if the warranty is honored even if the item is broken right out of the box. I've grown so paranoid of this that I refuse to buy any electronic/electric items in India if the shop doesn't let me test them first.

There are exceptions, though. My water filter failed three times during the first year and -albeit with a bit of grumbling the last time- it was repaired free of charge.

__________________
When the wise man points out the black hole, the fool looks at the finger.

rsk11584

Even I was surprised to see travellers checking in bottles of liquor, and LCD plasma TVs, was thinking that during transport and while on conveyor belt the luggage falls, doesnt the TV get broken inside?

Aussie-Roger

I dont understand how they are allowed to charge duty on a personal item such as a TV that you will be using not selling.. Customs is a joke here.. we had some medical supplies flown here and the main reason was because they are not even availible in india.. including some food for my mother who is sick. they thought this was medicine and have charged us duty on them.. I want to know how they can put a value on and item that they have never seen and you can't get in india.

My Plasma and LCD is on its way in a sea container... i will be interested to see what they decide to charge for them..

A used TV should not attract duty!! thats my opinion anyway