Custom Duties on headphones ?

Brendon

Brendon

Forerunner
Whoever has bought headphones online, please tell me if you had to pay custom duties and what % of the headphones value.

I want to know since I plan on importing two headphones from abroad.
 
I was abt to start this thread.

Someone told me that if the value is juts 5K or something, customs will not charge anything.
 
Oh no, 33% !!!! My dreams of a high end headphone is crashing. Thats a lot of money to pay for customs. I can see now why high end audio is sooo expensive here in India.

But how many of you have had to pay duties ?
 
21-22% for electronics, where did you guys get 33% from? And Nikhil, they can charge you duty even if the goods are valued under 5k... remember, duty is levied on cost of goods + freight + insurance :)

Last week I paid 680 bucks on goods worth $40 + 32 shipping. There were also times when I paid no duty for goods valued higher than this... it's a gamble.
 
They classify even computers under electronics so audio can't be different... my sidewinder and petra shipments that arrive clearly state what the contents are, but customs guys call it CD's and I get charged no duty :rofl: This last time I actually got some CD's shipped and the punks charged me duty :(

Based on this, you really think they're in a position to tell the difference between "audio" products and other "electronics" goods? :P
 
Rio is absolutely right. I brought in a guitar worth >70k for no duty, but a bunch of capacitors got charged at 22%, or about 800 bucks for a 100-dollar order. The high-end 200 dollar amp kits and chips went scot-free, as did a recent order from DealExtreme. But when I got speakers imported I again got charged 35% or something.

They have monthly targets I think, and they figure out ways of meeting them. It is totally your luck as to when the shipment comes in.

You can contest duties and ask for reimbursement, but I'm not sure if the procedure is totally simple and transparent, and therefore worth the hassle.
 
The re-assessment procedure is time consuming and requires you to head down to the FPO/customs office more than once... not worth it to save a few 100's.

And sangram, may I ask which guitar was that - Fender USA Strat? :)
 
@Rio: Nope. It was a handmade Spruce/EIR Lee acoustic guitar and hardshell ABS custom flight case, made in China. Superlative. If the customs guys wanted to investigate the website is in Chinese, and anyway I had carried a customs-friendly invoice. Also enough cash to pay duty in case things went wrong, but nobody asked.

Until I get my Tele sometime next year (Strat is in Yr4 from now, after the Tele and a Mesa/Boogie) the logo in my avatar is the only Fender I have, apart from a Fender pick. ;)

Edit: nukeu66: You need paperwork for that. I'm not sure what it involves though, but it may be true.
 
Brilliant, I'd be curious about how you plan to import the MESA/Boogie - those things weigh a ton!! It's a dream to own a Boogie stack, and I may not until I move to the UK.
 
I'm not sure myself. Maybe it'll come in by land and I'll take my chances with customs, or use one of my friends in production to get it in as equipment. It's some time away. I'm still practising with an acoustic till I get my chops good enough for a Tele, which is really my dream axe.
 
Hmm, maybe when importing we should ensure we get the goods only in the beginning of the month ? That way they may not be too concerned about targets !
 
as far as the laws are concerned...

Audio equipment gets charged@30-35% as nuke told u guys..

there IS a min limit of 5000 bucks.. for the C+I+F (Cost+Insurance+Freight) if ur C+I+F is below 5k they are not SUPPOSED to charge you anything for it..

but at the end of the day.. all that really matters is how lucky you get..
 
sTALKEr said:
but at the end of the day.. all that really matters is how lucky you get..
Click to expand...

Yep, that's it - I've had many things come through but one of my packages is held up at customs - those buggers want 1000 rupees for a couple batteries worth rs 300 :rofl: . Usually, things don't get stuck, but you can always get unlucky.
 
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