September 16, 2010-
People in India have a fascination for imported cars. They love to own
fancy vehicles and thus, cars are often exclusively imported in the country
from all over the world. Though, the process of car import in India has to
adhere to certain guidelines as recommended by the government of India. Have
a look at the car importing guidelines in India:
[a] (1) A new imported vehicle in India would be considered only if:
- The vehicle has not been assembled or manufactured in India.
- The vehicle has not been sold, leased or loaned before importing to India.
- The vehicle has not been registered under any other nation's laws for use.
(2) The import of a new vehicle needs to comply to the following
conditions:
- The vehicle should have a speedometer for flashing the speed in
kilometer per hour.
- The vehicle should have right hand steering and controls. [this
clause is exclusively for vehicles other than two or three wheelers]
- The head lamp's photometry of the vehicle should suit the 'keep left'
traffic.
- The vehicle should be imported from the manufacturing country only.
(3) The vehicle needs to conform to the clauses and rules of
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, as applicable on the date of import.
(4) The vehicle can only be imported via the customs port at Nhava
Sheva at Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai.
[b] (1) A second hand vehicle import or a used vehicle import in India
would be considered only if:
- The vehicle has been sold, leased or loaned before its importation in
India.
- The vehicle has been registered under any nation's laws for usage.
(2) The import of a used or second-hand vehicle needs to comply to the
following conditions:
- The vehicle should not be more than three years of age as counted
from the date of manufacture.
- The vehicle should have a speedometer for flashing the speed in
kilometer per hour.
- The vehicle should have right hand steering and controls. [this
clause is exclusively for vehicles other than two or three wheelers]
- The head lamp's photometry of the vehicle should suit the 'keep left'
traffic.
- The vehicle needs to conform to the clauses and rules of Motor
Vehicles Act, 1988, as applicable on the date of import.
(3) The vehicle needs to conform to the clauses and rules of Motor
Vehicles Act, 1988, as applicable on the date of import.
(4) The vehicle can only be imported via the customs port at Nhava
Sheva, Mumbai.
(5) The second-hand or
used
vehicle imports made within India need to have a road worthiness for a
period of at least 5 years from the date it was imported into India with a
promise of rendering service facilities in India during that five year
period. For this particular purpose, the importer would need to submit an
official declaration of road worthiness for the vehicle being imported which
has to be backed by any of the authorized testing agencies. The central
government may be notified in this regard.
(6) The imported used vehicle needs to be submitted for testing at
either of the following or equally authorized agencies as per the central
government's recommendation:
- Ministry of Defence's Vehicle Research and Development Establishment
(VRDE), Ahmednagar.
- Automotive Research Association of India, Pune.
- The Central Farm and Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Budni,
Madhya Pradesh.
These agencies would pass the second hand vehicle by issuing a certificate
as per the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
