Review Aliexpress.com - Feedback Thread

[blr_p]

Okay.
Hope it is reasonable if charged. You maybe lucky and no charges also. so hope for the best and expect customs as high as close to 70%

Customs duty is based on landed cost. So Cost of the goods + shipping. If shipping is more then that max bracket of 42% will appear more.

Otherwise where does this 70% come from? based on mood is strange. They have a table for what it should cost. If they charge more then that is a fine for some reason.

 

[cellar_door]

Is Aliexpress working now? Site seems to work without VPN and most items say they will ship to India. Anyone tried it?

 

[FXGalvatron]

Anyone here uses DHGate or something? Banggood? Recently learnt Shoppee was also banned. ;-;

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

Is Aliexpress working now? Site seems to work without VPN and most items say they will ship to India. Anyone tried it?

Right at the payment stage, order placement is denied sighting logistics problem

 

[eternoMind]

Managed to find a seller on Alibaba who agreed to ship directly via a private courier - named 4PX something - with a tracking number. Seller said the courier will handle customs and will contact me for payment. Let's see how this pans out.

Custom duty on an item costing Rs 10,087 (product cost+shipping cost) came to Rs 4,274.

Break-up of Rs 4,274 = BCD @10% (Rs 1,009) + Social Welfare Surcharge (Rs 101) + IGST @28% (Rs 3,135) + Postal Fee (Rs 30)

Funny thing was the postman calling me up and asking 'if' I'd be willing to pay the custom duty. I replied in the affirmative and upon delivery, asked him about the 'if'. He said that most who buy such stuff for personal use refuse to pay the duty and leave IndiaPost with no choice but to return the item to origin. So, he wanted to save the trip to my place carrying the parcel if I didn't intend to pay either.

Alibaba works, you just have to find a seller who's willing to ship via post or couriers such as DHL Express and be ready to pay customs should assessable value be over Rs 5,000. Moreover, you can also get wholesale pricing compared to AliExpress's retail price.

 

[JMP]

IGST @28% (Rs 3,135)

May I ask if 28% GST is actually applicable for the item? Very few items like cars attract that amount.
The amount you are charged falls conveniently close to the 42% customs many courier companies blindly levy on 'personal' category imports.

 

[eternoMind]

May I ask if 28% GST is actually applicable for the item? Very few items like cars attract that amount.
The amount you are charged falls conveniently close to the 42% customs many courier companies blindly levy on 'personal' category imports.

I don't know, tbh. Even I've seen that 42% figure bandied about. I had no issues paying that fee either. I've also confirmed from others that should the assessable value be under Rs 5k, customs duty is not levied.

 

[eternoMind]

Custom duty on an item costing Rs 10,087 (product cost+shipping cost) came to Rs 4,274.

Break-up of Rs 4,274 = BCD @10% (Rs 1,009) + Social Welfare Surcharge (Rs 101) + IGST @28% (Rs 3,135) + Postal Fee (Rs 30)

Funny thing was the postman calling me up and asking 'if' I'd be willing to pay the custom duty. I replied in the affirmative and upon delivery, asked him about the 'if'. He said that most who buy such stuff for personal use refuse to pay the duty and leave IndiaPost with no choice but to return the item to origin. So, he wanted to save the trip to my place carrying the parcel if I didn't intend to pay either.

Alibaba works, you just have to find a seller who's willing to ship via post or couriers such as DHL Express and be ready to pay customs should assessable value be over Rs 5,000. Moreover, you can also get wholesale pricing compared to AliExpress's retail price.

Ordered the same product along with a couple of cheap other accessories (related to the product) from the same seller, for a friend.

BCD was levied at 35%. As you'd know, this bumps the surcharge and IGST accordingly. No idea why it was 10% in the previous instance and 35% now. Googling shows the BCD has a range of 0-100% depending upon the product's type, source country, and most importantly, the levying officer's interpretation of these 'guidelines'.

Perhaps another difference was that the product was this time shipped via DHL Express, which charged almost 50% more than in the previous instance where the seller used post. Moreover, DHL also added handling feels totalling up to just about Rs 1k to the customs bill.

As a percentage of the total product+shipping cost, the final amount came to 77%. If you add DHL's handling fee to this mix, this figure comes to 98% of the product+shipping cost. With the desire to get the product safely, we paid up the amount via DHL's site.

You win some, you lose some.

 

[JMP]

BCD was levied at 35%. As you'd know, this bumps the surcharge and IGST accordingly. No idea why it was 10% in the previous instance and 35% now. Googling shows the BCD has a range of 0-100% depending upon the product's type, source country, and most importantly, the levying officer's interpretation of these 'guidelines'.

Each product has a specific HSN code, you need to figure out under what HSN businesses import that product and tell the courier agency to mention that HSN code in their customs documentation.
One can fight back to an extent. Did you know the HSN code of your product?

 

[eternoMind]

Each product has a specific HSN code, you need to figure out under what HSN businesses import that product and tell the courier agency to mention that HSN code in their customs documentation.
One can fight back to an extent. Did you know the HSN code of your product?

Yes, I have the HS code for the product. It's mentioned by the seller on the invoice.

As for fighting it, you're right except that you have to pay it first and then try for a refund. It's ultimately up to the assessing officer to judge what BCD to apply. They can even go by the market price of the product to apply the BCD, if they feel the package is undervalued or not sure what's the right value.

Lesson for me here is to insist during future transactions on the seller using post. Will at least be assured of a lower shipping cost. We needed the product faster this time (product should reach me tomorrow, it left China via HK on the 9th while post took 15 days the last time), another reason why we decided against fighting. As it's an electronic product, the concern is getting it safe and sound.

 

[napstersquest]

Yeah technically it's around 200 or so as per many users...
But still for home usage 200 is more than enough provided one is using decent enough drivers...
TPA3255 is a great great chip for this particular range if rms..
Similarly the TPA3116D2 is an awesome option for around 100w amps..2.0 or 2.1
I would get the AIYIMA O7 once I have decent enough bookshelf pair...

For the ones who can take a risk I think one can get it at a lower price from Ali express
Please note the seller doesn't have any ratings so likely this is highly risky so Pl be careful, shared as i just stumbled upon it...

Like this one... Pics show AIYIMA but the title says Top.. @ 2543/- with free shipping to India

Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

Aliexpress started shipping to India?

 

[nitin_g3]

Like this one... Pics show AIYIMA but the title says Top.. @ 2543/- with free shipping to India

https://m.vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005005503165850.html

Has aliexpress started delivering to India?

Edit: Just checked they don't, I really wish they had, aliexpress is a heaven for DIY lovers.

 

[JMak]

Has aliexpress started delivering to India?

Edit: Just checked they don't, I really wish they had, aliexpress is a heaven for DIY lovers.
View attachment 166699

Why not mesage the seller and ask for a routed shipping and its price... They are doing that

 

[nitin_g3]

routed shipping and its price... They are doing that

I'm afraid we won't get Aliexpress's support in case of wrong item/ never got the item.

 

[buzz88]

Ebay.com does have many of Ali listings and ships to India. It's just a little bit more expensive though.

 

[enthusiast29]

Ebay.com does have many of Ali listings and ships to India. It's just a little bit more expensive though.

OT: At what value do we get charged for import duties? Never ordered internationally.

 

[JMak]

I'm afraid we won't get Aliexpress's support in case of wrong item/ never got the item.

Wow, it's been a few years since I purchased anything from there... Unfortunate really... Loads of great stuff available there for such a low price...

 

[buzz88]

OT: At what value do we get charged for import duties? Never ordered internationally.

Depends on the mood of the customs officers. Usually, it's below Rs 1000. But people have been known to have received stuff worth as much as 5K without duties, but the packages/products have to be small. The larger the package, the more likelihood of attracting customs duties. And when they do charge duties, sometimes it's 42% and sometimes 77%.

It's such a stupid system. My brother is in UK and anything imported outside from UK has VAT around 10% deducted at the source, so Aliexpress deducts that amount at the point of sale and item reaches them in a week or 10 days max. We are right next to China and even when Ali was working, things would take minimum a month to 45-50 days to reach you.

 

[t3chg33k]

Depends on the mood of the customs officers. Usually, it's below Rs 1000. But people have been known to have received stuff worth as much as 5K without duties, but the packages/products have to be small. The larger the package, the more likelihood of attracting customs duties. And when they do charge duties, sometimes it's 42% and sometimes 77%.

It's such a stupid system. My brother is in UK and anything imported outside from UK has VAT around 10% deducted at the source, so Aliexpress deducts that amount at the point of sale and item reaches them in a week or 10 days max. We are right next to China and even when Ali was working, things would take minimum a month to 45-50 days to reach you.

Read an article just the other day about the UK VAT deduction. The Chinese sellers list residential addresses in UK for deduction, make UK buyers pay the VAT and never credit it, so the tax demand goes to people living at those addresses and the sellers just pocket the VAT. Considering this kind of exploitation, I would think it is wise to charge duties on landing instead.

Previously, I had custom duties charged for a $20 item that was overvalued at Mumbai customs. I raised a complaint in the portal, the assessment guy called me, apologised and refunded the custom duty out of his own pocket as it was an under warranty replacement. So the complaint system works at least if rules are not followed.

Also, I had parcels delivered through free registered post after 2 monnths as well as paid couriers delivering in 3 days from China. It is not that the shipping doesn't work, but depends on the options made available by the seller and the ones you choose.

 

[n1r0]

...I would think it is wise to charge duties on landing instead.

Custom duties are still collected at the time of delivery in UK. Not sure about VAT being collected by seller.

Previously, I had custom duties charged for a $20 item that was overvalued at Mumbai customs. I raised a complaint in the portal, the assessment guy called me, apologised and refunded the custom duty out of his own pocket as it was an under warranty replacement. So the complaint system works at least if rules are not followed.

Do you have an account of this posted anywhere to read? I had to return something abroad for a warranty claim and I got charged customs for the replacement as they considered it to be new. Luckily the defective item came back to me as it was refused by the destination country since it didn't have bill (how am I supposed to issue a bill for that), so I can at least use its parts for spares.

Else I would request you to post a new topic for everyone's benefit on making international warranty claims without paying customs twice.