| How
I purchased my ICOM R75 through the internet from here in Kolkata
Recently I made a successful
purchase of an ICOM R75 entirely through the internet. Since I am very
satisfied with the purchase, I thought I should post it on the net for
the benefit of other Indian DXers. All these years the Indian DXer
had difficulty in procuring Yaesu, Icom ,NRD, AOR etc. Only Sony ICF series
have been available on the gray market. With liberalization of imports
by the Government of India , the scenario is changed.
Selecting the Set
I read reviews of the receiver
on
http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/icr75.html
Why did I buy it from America?
Because I read a review in radio Netherlands web site which said that ICOM
was offering the set with Digital Signal Processor kit free ( worth some
$120) only in North America. I read more reviews of the set including the
best price bargains from http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/427
Please note that apart
from the price you have to consider the cost of shipping and the banking
charges charged by the various dealers.
Selecting the dealer
I went into the manufacturers
web site ,in my case http://www.icomamerica.com
and looked into the dealers list. I checked the available web sites and
looked for the best bargain. Three sites that I found to be offering
competitive prices were http://www.universal-radio.comhttp://www.hamradio.com
and
http://www.aesham.com
Trying the set out
I even checked out the set
on the web from http://www.ralabs.com/webradio/
Shipping
I decided on USPS express
mail because it was most competitive and secure. I checked the details
including the postage calculator from their site http://www.usps.com.Later
when the set was dispatched, I could even check the movement of the consignment
using the tracking number given by USPS.
Proforma Invoice
Next I asked for a proforma
invoice or a quotation from the dealer by email. I contacted my nearest
foreign exchange dealing branch, in my case it was Bank of India and said
that I wanted to import under free import category. The Government of India's
import export policy says that imports by individuals which is not for
trade, manufacturing or agriculture does not need import license and has
been assigned an import code number IEC 0100000053
Please note that the proforma
invoice should mention free offer if any else they will be charged for
customs duty. Also ensure that discounted price is mentioned . "100% received
in advance " is required to be mentioned for the bank.
Payment
Their are many payment options
but it is wise to go in for payment through your bank by wire transfer
or through demand draft because I realized that this method is likely to
have the least hassle from the Customs authorities. Some dealers , however,
accept wire transfer only. Please note that wire transfer is not instant
but takes a couple of days to be complete. The banks at either end charge
a fee for the transfer. In my case the Bank of India charged Rs 500 + 0.5%
of the entire transaction value. The American bank charged $20. Please
make sure that the correct name , address, bank number and account number
of your dealers is mentioned along with the wire transfer.
Customs
In my case within 6 days
I got a letter from the Foreign Post Office that my parcel was awaiting
customs clearance. When I contacted the Foreign Post with the letter, my
parcel was opened before me by the customs appraiser and the customs duty
was determined.
Unless you are importing
it under import license for the ham radio category communication
receivers are charged 20% duty and an additional 16 % countervailing duty
on value plus custom duty and the an additional 0.5% landing charge.
This works out to roughly 36 %. Please note that customs duty is calculated
on cost including freight and insurance (CIF) value. After the customs
duty is determined the parcel is repackaged . It was delivered to me the
next day . The customs duty has to be paid to the post man or to the post
office, the latter in case you decide to collect it from the post office
after producing identification.
After making the payment,
the receiver was at my home in twelve days time
Saving on customs duty
To save on the customs duty,
the process is longer and cumbersome.
1. Get a Amateur SWL
license from the WPC Wing (Amateur Section) of Ministry of Communication.
For this no examination is required. You only need to apply in the prescribed
format and then pay a fee to the Government of India. Takes up to six months
or more.
2. Get profroma invoice of
the receiver from the dealer
3. Apply for a import license
to the Assistant Wireless Advisor of the Government of India Ministry of
Communication
4. Make a note of the appropriate
customs notification which specifies lower rate of Customs duty for Amateur
Radio enthusiasts. At present it will work out to some 17 % of the CIF
value
Most of Customs information
are given in their exhaustive web site
http://www.cbec.gov.in.
As per customs notification
only sets costing less than Rs 75,000 are allowed in this subsidized category.
So if you are planning to buy NRD or AOR which cost more than Rs 75000,
this benefit will not apply
There is good information
on these import issues from an Indian ham VU2MSY which can be looked into
his page at http://qsl.net.
Completing Banks Obligation
You have to submit the postal
wrapper bearing the customs duty memo number and the commercial invoice
to the Bank as a proof of import .
April 2004
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