India International Auto Transport Quotes

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India international shipping companies help individuals transport household goods and other items between India and the United States. Many of them specialize exclusively in handling goods between the two countries and are, therefore, extremely familiar with all relevant customs rules, regulations and tariffs in the United States and in India. Customs rules in India and the United States make it extremely hard to ship personally owned cars between the two countries. Even so, a handful of Indian shipping companies do transport automobiles between the United States and India if a customer requests such a service.

Reviews of India International Shipping Companies

• Interocean Group
• Shipping Corporation of India

Transporting Goods Between the United States and India

Shipping companies that serve India typically operate out of ports based in cities such as Mumbai, Marmugao, Cochin, Chennai and Kolkata. Goods bound for ports along the US east coast are usually shipped via routes along the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Goods bound for the west coast, meanwhile, travel over the Indian Ocean and then the Pacific Ocean. Indian residents based in the United States who want to transfer residence back to their home country, often use these companies to ferry their good back to India. Similarly, American citizens working for the US government or for a private company in India, use India international shipping companies to transport their belongings back to the United States at the end of their stint.

Container and Palletized Shipping

India international shippers offer door-to-door, port-to-port, door-to-port and port-to-door service. In almost all cases, goods that are shipped between the two countries are transported in containers. Goods that require less than one container are transported on pallets or in crates. Typically, India international shipping companies will charge for a minimum of 50 cubic feet of space, regardless of whether you require than much space or not. So, if you have less than a quarter of a container worth of goods, you may be better of transporting your goods by air between the two countries.

Shipping Reminders

Here are a few items to keep in mind when shipping goods between India and the United States:

Shipping companies require between three to seven weeks to transport goods from the United States to India or vice versa. Often, goods transported via the Atlantic Ocean are routed through a European port.

In most cases, you will be required to be personally present in order to clear your goods through customs. Some shipping companies offer customs clearance services for an extra fee.

Make sure your boxes do not weigh more than 40 pounds each at most. Keeping your boxes small makes it easier to load and unload them.

India international shipping companies do not typically include insurance coverage when they quote a price. If you want insurance coverage, you will need to purchase it yourself for an extra fee.

Shipping a car to India from the United States can be a huge challenge. For one thing, you cannot import a left-hand drive vehicle into India, unless your car was built before 1999. All traffic in India drives on the left-hand side of the road, so only right-hand drive vehicles are permitted on Indian roads. Importing a car to India from the US can also have a huge impact on your wallet because of the very high customs duties associated with all car imports.

Container Shipping to India

Before you attempt to ship a car to India, make sure that the vehicle can, in fact, be imported into the country. If your car qualifies for import to India, you can have it shipped to that country either in a container or on-board a Roll on Roll off vessel. If you choose the container shipping option, your car will be shipped to India in a 20-foot or 40-foot steel container. Most shipping companies allow you to store household goods and personal items in the same container in which your car will be transported.

Roll on Roll of Shipping to India

If you are shipping just the car to India, consider having it transported on a Roll on Roll off vessel. A RoRo ship has ramps that allow wheeled and tracked vehicles to be driven on board the ship and parked in an allotted parking spot for transportation. The same ramps are then used to drive the car off the ship when it reaches its destination. In most cases, the RoRo option is considerably cheaper than containers for shipping a car to India.

Steep Customs Duties

Expect to pay a steep customs duty if you want to import a car to India. Import duties on personally owned vehicles can be as high as 160 percent of the depreciated value of your vehicle. The original value of the car is determined using the manufacturer’s invoice or your original bill of sale. All customs duties that are due when you import a car to India must be paid only in U.S. dollars, except under certain select circumstances.

Things to Know when Transporting a Car to India

There are several factors you need to keep in mind when importing a car to India.

• You can only import the car through the Mumbai port.
• Your car cannot be more than three years old, and must have a residual life of at least five years from its date of entry in India.
• You can import a car only from the country in which it was originally manufactured. In other words, you will have a much harder time if you try to import a German made car from the US.
• Indian citizens can import a car only if they have been in the US continuously for a period of at least two years. If the car is a used one, it needs to have been used for at least one year in the US before it can be shipped to India.
• Indian residents can ship a car to India only once every five years.

Shipping a car from India to the United States can be a complex and costly task. All cars manufactured in India have their steering wheel on the right hand side of the vehicle, unlike in the United States, where all cars are left-hand drive vehicles. As a result, most Indian-made cars are incompatible for use in the United States. The US also has some of the toughest vehicle safety and emissions controls requirements in the world. Cars that do not meet these requirements can only be imported after they have been modified for use in the US.

Stringent U.S. Safety and Emissions Requirements

If you are planning on importing a car from India, you first need to determine if the car will meet US safety and emissions requirements. If you are confident that it meets these requirements, you can have it shipped to the US in a container or on board a Roll On Roll Off vessel. Depending on the company you use and the price you are willing to pay, you can have your car shipped door-to-door, port-to-port, port-to-door, or door-to-port. You can expect the shipping company to take anywhere from three weeks to seven weeks to ship a car from India to the United States.

Shipping Options

You can ship your car from India to any major U.S. port along the east or the west coast. Regardless of where your car arrives, you will need to be personally present to receive your car in the US and clear it through the customs process. In order to import a car from India you will need to have the title to the vehicle, a valid driver’s license, the original bill of sale showing the price at which the vehicle was purchased and the bill of lading. If you have a bank loan against the vehicle, you will also need a no-objection letter from your bank consenting to the vehicle’s export.

Technical Inspection

When importing a car from India, you will need to show that the vehicle meets US safety and emissions requirements. The car will be inspected to ensure that its headlights, seat belts, bumpers, braking system, engine size and other features are compliant with US standards. You can import a car from India even if it does not meet specifications. However, you will need to work with a registered importer to bring your car into compliance within 45 days. Keep in mind that this can be a very costly process.

Tips for Importing a Car to the US from India

Here are a few other details to keep in mind when shipping a car from India.

• You will need to thoroughly wash the undercarriage of your vehicle before you can bring it into the country. This is a requirement of the United States Department of Agriculture.
• You cannot store personal belongings in your car when shipping it to the United States. You will need to declare all items in your car to Customs upon entry. A failure to do so can result in your vehicle being seized by Customs.
• All foreign-made vehicles imported into the US attract a 2.5 percent Customs duty. This rate remains the same regardless of whether you are importing a new vehicle or a used one.
• Overseas-based US citizens visiting the country can ship a car from India duty-free, so long as the vehicle is exported out of the country at the end of their stay in the US.