Buying from Singapore

I'm thinking of buying an LED TV from Singapore. I myself won't be going there but a friend who is going for holidays will bring it for me.I'd like to know if there are others who have bought TVs / Laptops this way. My friend said you can only buy a 32 inch LED, not larger than that, but I think it has to do with the Rs. 25,000 limit, since a Samsung LED TV in India costs about 43-44K (which in Singapore costs 22K), so larger than 32 inches would exceed the limit.Suppose I also order a laptop (along with the TV), will my friend be able to carry it with him along with the TV in the baggage? And is there any chance of the airport people in India stealing the item? I've had my bag broken and some things missing quite a few times.🙂

In little India area ask for Niranjan Electronics. The prices are much cheaper than Mustafa. You can buy any size, there is no size limitation. Many of our friends bought 40" + TVs. Also you can bring both TV and Laptop. In Mumbai airport almost 75% of passengers coming from Singapore come with TV. I don't see any problem from customs / security.

^ dont the customs guys judge the price of the product by what it costs in india?..for eg a 42" inch LCD TV costing less than 25 K in singapore would cost around 35-40 K mark (ofcourse of the same brand and same model) here..so technically it should be chargeable to duty..

I don't think so. AFAIK, customs is charged on the MRP/invoice. In case they suspect the price has been misrepresented or there is no bill/invoice, they use their own guesstimates.

^ umm..as per CBEC..customs have their own list for prices of various products..if one has a receipt it "should" be accepted by the custom guys at the airport..

A.24 The Customs have their own pricelist (Usually the manufacturers price, for all known brands). In case the 50 USD price is from a manufacturer/dealer, with original invoice, this should be acceptable to Customs and would be allowed free of duty, within the Rs 12000 limit

http://www.cbec.gov.in/faq.htm

the limit above has been revised to 25000 but the rule still holds..so if a TV is cheaper abroad and the same model is costly as per the Indian price list..can they technically impose a duty? or is the bill the de-facto final evidence of the price?

Last time I got my TV from Bangkok, I showed my invoice which was just below Rs 25k. I paid no customs. The same model was just launched in India and was quoting around Rs 36k.

good..so apparently they follow the invoice..though the rules do give them a loop-hole to interfere if the indian price is more..

General accepted rule is that 32" TVs they rarely even stop you & ask anything... They just let you pass coz 99% of the time the TV value is less than 25K(even less than 20K in most cases)... 40"+ TV is a hit & miss affair... They might let you just pass through the green channel or they may stop you... There is also the case that if they do stop you & see that u own custom duty they are willing to take a small amount under the table to let you pass.. Like if u own 15k custom duty they might let you pass by taking 5k under the table... They main prob with bringing a TV is the safety of the TV itself... Be sure to add a lot of bubble wrap into the packaging box to protect the TV... Also put large stickers of "Fragile" on the box although how much this really helps is quite doubtful...PS I myself was planning to bring a TV from abroad but have since dropped the idea coz of the hassle involved like lack of warranty, damage during travel etc etc...

Suppose the person buys an LCD TV for 22K, and also a laptop and carries the laptop in the cabin baggage, will he have to pay duty for the laptop or can he say that he didn't buy it in Singapore, he already had it with him?

1 laptop per person is allowed... So if ur fend has his own laptop with him & he brings another laptop for u too(meaning he has 2 laptops) then the custom officer is well within his rights to ask for customs on the laptop(provided the cost of the laptop is above 25k)... In your case if he brings the 2nd laptop for say 22k & the tv for 20k & the customs guys chk then he will have to pay customs@30-35% on 42k... Just male sure he only has 1 laptop with him when he comes back...

I once came with two laptops carried in single laptop bag. For security scan you need to put both laptops out, but otherwise no one even bother to check your laptop bag...And for God's sake, do not carry laptop in checkin luggage. You never know whether you will get it back or not...TVs, I will prefer buying it from India, due to guarantee, servicing issues. And I dont think the price difference is much as well