Urgent:help me get my guitar in the country...really urgent

So my brother is getting my gutiar, now..i need to know this........how do i get it in.......if he declares that as his own...will his passport get stamped.......coz then if it does he will have to take it back with him
so how do i avoid paying the custom duty on it.......
is there an excise duty on musical instruments?????
how much is it??
what percentage is it???
oh yeah hes getin it from the states

 

bro i dont kno exactly but all i kno is no pasport gets stamped for items below 1000$ now depends how much your bro paid for your guitar and if they mark it
u can always show it STOLEN and then thrs no need to take it back

thr is import duty on gits if u get them packed with tags and all but if u bring them as luggage no probs

still u must confirm all i said with hindirox he is gettin his git from US so he mus b knoing pros n cons

 

umm.sslayer or jeklly for that matter knew lots nout customs ..ask him

 

take it easy

In case your brother is getting in stuff less than USD 500 worth, there is no customs duty. There will be no stamping of passport in india, that is done at the country of departure so that you can bring the same stuff back duty free if you want.

In the worst case, the max customs + countervailing duty is 40% for hand carried stuff. You can avoid that by paying the customs guy about 1K under the table.

I got my squier satin worth 200 UK Pounds, My Zoom 707 II, my DVD player and my music system all at once, and I said those were personal and used. Thats all, no questions asked, no duty paid. Ask your bro to remove all tags etc which might make it look new, and say its his personal. He should retain the bill / invoice in case he wants/has to pay duty, the 40% is calculated on that value. Also, if he is a full time NRI, he can get another USD 500 woth of gifts I think, but pls check on that on the net.

Overall, take it easy, I have not heard any one pay duty on hand carried guitars ever.

 

@ Dr. Saurabh : My bro is arriving tomorrow.. See its very simple.. Just ask him to hold the guitar and walk into the cabin.. Ask him not to check it in.. Let him keep this as an ADDON to the Cabin Baggage that he may have thats it.. Passport wont get stamped.. There is no rule saying that he has to take back what he brought..

Ask him not to declare it unless wnated.. See he should behave as if its for his personal use thats all.. Ask him to take off all the tags stickers etc.. Also ask him to rub some sweat on the body thats quite a deciever...

No Customs Nothing....

 

Second that^^^

PS- rubbing his sweat on the body thingy is hilarious!!!

 

^^ Its good though and makes a LOT OF SENSE.. It will make it look all played and you can just clean it off easily..

 

How about import of pickups and pedals?..do they bother you for that..its anyway cheaper stuff much below $500..

 

^^ not if taken properly.. Pickups NO customs.. I've got some 8-9 so far...

Pedals they will ask the value.. When they are below 500$, just tell thereal value and no customs for you.. If they check on the net and find out you may get a good trip...

 

okie..I am basically getting my faulty pedal replaced..I will ask the pedal co to put a letter telling as much..its neways a $90 pedal..so shudnt be a prob hopefully..

 

^^ Declare it properly and you wont have problems.. Any stupidity will make you end up paying.. Just let it be shipped as it is..

 

So bottomline..just declare it and there will be no prob..no xtra letter req..thing is they charged duty when i first imported it...but my sister's co paid up so no prob

 

ok thanx a lot guys...passed this info to him........but...condidering its taken as cabin baggage it shudnt be a problem..

 

^^ Ya doc.. 12 more hours and i'll tell you my bro's experience...

@ nebu : YOu paid customs for something worth 90$?? Maybe he/she were carrying stuff worth more than 500$

 

@ Nebu - The "No duty for goods below USD 500' rule applies only for goods carried in a baggage by a person. If you are getting your pedal replaced through courier, you are liable to pay duty. You could try the letter thing, but these customs people are real ass wipes, they just look for opportunities to slam the duty. So mentally you should be ready to pay around 40% of the cost as duty (the break up is Basic Duty 15% on invoice value + Countervailing duty (CVD) 16% of 60% of the MRP /RP + 2% Cess on CVD + 2% education cess on all these three).

 

I was asked to pay for Ubuntu Linux cds.. which came by courier.. I said No ways.. Then after a month they just sent it like that.. I guess they couldnt fingure out how to install it.. LOL...

What sanjiv said is right.. Make sure it comes in the cabin baggage..

 

actually there is no restriction about cabin baggage, it can come in your check in baggage too. However, if its a guitar, and especially if it does not have a hard case, its better to carry it in and give it to the stewardess to stow away somewhere. pedals and all can be put in check in baggage, I did that with mine.

 

@ Sanjiv : Smaller stuff should be carried abound in Cabin Baggage.. Do you know how they throw around the luggage??

One bass guitar was manhandled and now needs body work.. work has begun at Tulsi so once its done ill show you pictures.. Then decide whether things are safe in ChecK iN luggage...

 

Cant the airline be sued for that kind off damage?

 

my guitar is coming with a case......the only prerequiste in case of Muiscal instruments to be carried as cabbin baggae is that they fit in the over head compartment ....which will easily fit the guitar.....with the case....if its larger and is a delicate instrument then in that case u give to the stewardess for safe keeping......