How to Import cars to India without paying Import Duty with ATA Carnet
August 25th, 2023
Since Indians have been noticing some very unusual and never-seen-before vehicles in India, their curiosity about them has boosted skyrocketing high. And this is very obvious, especially for Automobile enthusiasts that, whenever we see a Car or a Motorcycle which is primarily not available or sold in India in India, we get excited. Because most of the time those vehicles have a greater value outside of India, but unfortunately, we can’t purchase them in India.
It’s been happening for a lot of years, that people are importing cars of brands like GMC, FORD, FERRARI, CADILLAC, etc. and as said, the cars from these brands have an enormous amount of value and attraction all over the world, but still, they not being in a big and growing market like India.
And due to this, people end up importing them. Now, as we discussed, the curiosity about “How did they bring this beast (the particular car or motorcycle) to India” has been booming and because of this, the number of imports of extraordinary vehicles in India is increasing per year.
Well, this sounds amazing, right? But, what if we tell you that, it is not that of a rocket science to import a vehicle to India? In fact, even you can do it if you hold the right amount of credentials.
So, let us further in this article tell you how you could bring in your favourite car or motorcycle which is not available here in India.
We will learn this step by step, though it is not complicated but it contains a lot of documentation. To make it easier to understand, we will take the example of the 2023 Ford Mustang, as this car is not available here in India.
First Step :
The very first thing which you need is to Buy a car from the country where it is available and let me explain why.
So, the scenario over here is that you are willing to import a car here in India. This car is not available over here, therefore, what you need to do is that, first you need to go abroad to the particular country where that car is on sale and it should also be completely built over there, for instance, Dubai, as the 2023 Ford Mustang is on sale over there.
After going to Dubai, you need to get hold of these particular documents in order to register the 2023 Ford Mustang on your name →
- Valid Passport
- Visa
- Emirates ID
- Valid UAE Driving License
(However, there is one more step, which is that you can buy your desired car from Dubai by registering it on the name of any UAE citizen you know. But, the reason we did not mention that is because it contains additional work ahead in the steps which we will talk about)
So, after getting hold of these documents, you are valid and authorized to buy a vehicle in Dubai and hence, you bought the 2023 Ford Mustang. But before moving forward to the next step, make sure of these things,
The car you bought should -
not be second-hand.
be fully owned by you without having to pay any ongoing loans on the car.
be completely built & assembled from the country of origin (the country from where you are exporting the car to India).
be imported via Naval docks of both - the country of origin (Dubai - based on our example) and the destined country (India - based on our example).
Second Step :
The second step consists of an international document which is ATA CARNET (Carnet de Passages en Douane). This document will work as a passport for the vehicle or goods you want to import here in India, for instance, Ford Mustang. This could give you the key to bring your newly bought Ford Mustang in India from Dubai, but, For a Limited amount of time period.
Yes, for a limited amount of time. Carnet can just give you the authority to bring your Ford Mustang for a limited period which is officially stated up to 12 Months. I know it is a disadvantage, but there is an advantage too -
Now, whenever you want to fully import a car, you just can't ignore the high Import duties on vehicles. And if you want to bring your Ford Mustang forever in India, then you will have to pay close to ₹85 lakhs for a car for all the registration work. And by the way, the Ford Mustang in Dubai costs half of it - ₹40 lakhs. So, don’t you think, importing the car in your desired time period in India makes more sense, even financially?
Now, let us talk about how you could obtain a carnet. Carnet is usually obtained from the authorised offices of either the ATA CARNET itself or the various Third-party agents who could get you a carnet. We suggest that you should obtain a carnet for your vehicle from its authorised offices in Dubai, you could even get hold of their contacts through their Google websites.
Once, you will apply for your vehicle’s Carnet, they will ask you to get a list of documents which is needed to make a Carnet of your vehicle. Well, I don’t know the list of documents that are needed in Dubai, but I do know what documents are needed for the vehicle’s Carnet if you are exporting a vehicle from India. (You can refer to these as an example) →
- Application letter for Carnet with total details of travelling itinerary
- Two next of Kin contacts
- Driving Licence copy of Applicant
- Registration copy of vehicle
- Passport scan colour copy of Carnet Applicant
- Vehicle photographs from all sides
- Alternate Photo ID proof of applicant
- Two Passport size photos
- Vali insurance copy of vehicle (we suggest you get a new insurance policy for your vehicle from the Carnet office itself, as mostly no Third-party insurance is accepted)
- Membership of the particular Carnet office
- A list of spare tools and their value
Now remember, we told you that you could even buy a vehicle in Dubai, registered on someone else’s name who is a UAE citizen and we suggested not to use this method as it adds on more step which is →
- You will need to get a NOC letter from the owner of the vehicle saying, he/she has no issue sending your vehicle abroad to some other country with you.
This step also contains some payments to be made to the Carnet office in Dubai, which goes → $50,000 is 2023 Ford Mustang’s cost.
Cash Deposit for Security purpose will cost you →
Processing Fee - $775
Cash Deposit - $49,000 (These $49,000 will be repaid to you once you return to Dubai after the trip)
Deposit service Fee - $1,000
Cash Deposit for Loss Prevention →
Processing Fee - $775
Cash Deposit - $25,000 (80% of $25,000 will be repaid to you once you return to Dubai after the trip which means, $20,000 will be refunded)
Now, this concludes the second step of how to import your 2023 Ford Mustang to India. Let’s get to the next step.
Third Step :
The third step is an easy one, as now you need to find a Shipping company that could help you ship your Ford Mustang to India. Once you have found a shipping company, they will need the Hard Copy of your Carnet, as the Custom Officer at the Naval port will stamp on it, so that the car is officially authorised and allowed to ship to India.
Fourth Step :
This step will need you to fly to India to receive your vehicle which has been shipped to India. Now, over here, you need to receive the vehicle by providing the obtained documents in Dubai and 2 more documents - Indian Driving Licence and Indian Citizenship.
These will conclude your Ford Mustang’s shipment to India, as after the Custom Officer goes through all the documents, will give a stamp on the Carnet which will officially confirm your car’s import in India. And wallah! You can not drive the car in India officially, yes not yet, there is one more step!
Fifth Step :
This step consists of you paying the Road Tax of your vehicle based on whatever time period your vehicle is authorised to be driven in India. Based on our example it is 12 months.
The cost of road tax goes ₹10,000 for the first month and ₹5,000 for the remaining months → ₹65,000 of Road Tax is needed to be paid by you in your desired state’s RTO Office.
And there you go, now you are all set to enjoy your Ford Mustang in India for the next 12 Months. But make sure you return to Dubai with your imported vehicle before the chosen time period. If you failed to do so, then you will be punished, as your import process will be stated as an act of smuggling.
We hope this information provided by us helps you at most.
And if you will ever import a vehicle by taking this article’s help, do let us know!