Import Licensing notes:

(1) (I) A second hand or used vehicle(including all the vehicles other than Railway or Tramway) for the purposes of this Chapter shall mean a vehicle that :-

(a) has been sold, leased or loaned prior to importation into India; or

(b) has been registered for use in any country according to the laws of that country, prior to importation into India;

(II). The import of second had or used vehicles shall be subject to the following conditions:-

(a) The second hand or used vehicle shall not be older than three years from the date of manufacture;

(b) The second hand or used vehicle shall :


(i) have right hand steering, and controls (applicable on vehicles other than two and three wheelers);

(ii) have a speedometer indicating the speed in Kilometres; and

(iii) have photometry of the headlamps to suit “keep left” traffic.

(c) In addition to the conditions specified in (a) and (b) above, the second hand or used vehicle shall conform to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and the rules made thereunder.

(d) Whoever being an importer or dealer in motor vehicles who imports or offers to import a second hand or used vehicle into India shall,


(i) at the time of importation, submit a certificate issued by a testing agency, which the Central Government may notify in this regard, that the second hand or used vehicle being imported into India has been tested immediately before shipment for export to India and the said vehicle conforms to all the regulations specified in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 of India and the rules made thereunder.

(ii) At the time of importation, submit a certificate issued by a testing agency, which the Central Government may notify in this regard, that the second hand or used vehicle being imported into India has been tested immediately before shipment for export to India and the said vehicle conforms to the original homologation certificate issued at the time of manufacture.

(iii) On arrival at the Indian port but before clearance for home consumption, submit the vehicle for testing by the Vehicle Research and Development Establishment, Ahmednagar of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India or Automotive research Association of India, Pune or Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Budni, Madhya Pradesh for tractors, and such other agencies as may be specified by the Central Government, for granting a certificate by that agency as to the compliance of the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and any rules made thereunder.

(iv) Import of these vehicles shall be allowed only through the customs port at Mumbai.

(e) The second hand or used vehicles imported into India should have a minimum roadworthiness for a period of 5 years from the date of importation into India with assurance for providing service facilities within the country during the five year period. For this purpose, the importer shall, at the time of importation, submit a declaration indicating the period of roadworthiness in respect of every individual vehicle being imported, supported by a certificate issued by any of the testing agencies, which the Central Government may notify in this regard.”

(2) (I) A new imported vehicle(including all the vehicles other than Railway or Tramway) for the purposes of this Chapter shall mean a vehicle that :-

(a) has not been manufactured/assembled in India; and

(b) has not been sold, leased or loaned prior to importation into India; or

(c) has not been registered for use in any country according to the laws of that country, prior to importation into India.

(II) The import of new vehicles shall be subject to the following conditions:

a. The new vehicle shall-


(i) have a speedometer indicating the speed in Kilometres per hour;

(ii) have right hand steering, and controls (applicable on vehicles other than two and three wheelers);

(iii) have photometry of the headlamps to suit “keep-left” traffic; and

(iv) be imported from the country of manufacture.

b. In addition to the conditions specified in (a) above, the new vehicle shall conform to the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and the rules made thereunder, as applicable, on the date of import.

c. Whoever being an importer or dealer in motor vehicles who imports or offers to import a new vehicle into India shall,


(i) at the time of importation, have valid certificate of compliance as per the provisions of rule 126 of Central Motor Vehicle Rules(CMVR), 1989, for the vehicle model being imported, issued by any of the testing agencies, specified in the said rule;

(ii) be responsible for all the provisions assigned to the manufacturer as per Rules 122 & 138 of CMVR, 1989 and for issuing Form 22, as per provisions of CMVR, 1989; and

(iii) give an undertaking in writing that the proof of compliance to conformity of production as per rule 126A of CMVR shall be submitted within six months of the imports. In case of failure to do so, no further import of new vehicle of that model shall be allowed thereafter.

d. The import of new vehicles shall be permitted through the Customs Port at Nhava Sheva, Kolkata, Chennai, ICD- Tughlakabad and Delhi Air Cargo, Mumbai Port.

(Above (d) has been amended vide NTF. NO. 41/2003, DT. 26/04/2004)

[OLD -
d. The import of new vehicles shall be permitted through the Customs Port at Nhava Sheva, Kolkata, Chennai, ICD- Tughlakabad and Delhi Air Cargo, JN Port, Mumbai.

(Above (d) has been amended vide NTF. NO. 39/2003, DT. 21/04/2004)

d. The import of new vehicles shall be permitted through the Customs Port at Nhava Sheva, Kolkata, Chennai, ICD-Tughlakabad and Delhi Air Cargo.

d. The import of new vehicles shall be permitted only through the Customs port at Nhava Sheva, Calcutta and Chennai. ]

e. The provisions of this notification will not apply to the imports of new vehicles-


(i) for the purpose of certification as per para c (i ) above;

(ii) for the purpose of defence requirements; and for the purpose of R&D by vehicle manufacturers.

3. (I) The conditions at sl. Nos. 1 & 2 above shall not be applicable on import of passenger cars/jeeps/multi utility vehicles etc. on payment of full Customs duty by the following categories of importers:

(a) Individuals coming to India for permanent settlement after two years continuous stay abroad provided the car has been in the possession of the individual for a period of minimum one year abroad.

[OLD -
(a) Individuals coming to India for permanent settlement after two years’ continuous stay abroad; ]

(b) Resident Indians presented with a car as an award in any international event/match/competition;

(c) Legal heirs/successors of deceased relatives residing abroad;

(d) Physically handicapped persons;

(e) Companies incorporated in India having foreign equity participation;

(f) Branches/offices of foreign firms;

(g) Charitable/Missionary/Religious institutions registered as per the law relating to the registration of the societies or trusts or otherwise approved by the Central or State Government, subject to the condition that the importer is an established institution and is functioning for the common benefit of the community, and subject further to production of necessary clearance under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976.

(h) Honorary Consuls of foreign countries on the recommendations of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

(i) Journalists/Correspondents of foreign news agencies having accredition certificate with the Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India.

However, these imports shall be subject to the condition that, the vehicle should have right hand steering and controls(applicable on vehicles other than two and three wheelers).

(II) All the above categories shall be entitled to import only one vehicle except categories (e) and (f), which shall be entitled to import maximum of three vehicles. Persons in category (d) shall be entitled to import only specially designed vehicles suitable for use by handicapped. All such imports shall carry a “NO SALE” condition of two years which shall be endorsed by the Customs authorities on the passport/ registration documents at the time of import and by the Regional Transport Authorities when such vehicles are presented for registration in India. [Deleted - All such imports, except by the physically handicapped persons, shall not involve any foreign exchange remittance from India directly or indirectly. ] The DGFT may, however, permit relaxation of these conditions or imports by any other category not listed above in special circumstances.

(III) All bonds/ bank guarantees executed by importers of cars/two wheelers etc. prior to 31.03.97, where the vehicle has not been transferred, shall be deemed to have been discharged with effect from 31.03.2000(from the date of issuance of public notice no. 3(RE-2000)/97-02.

(In above Note Paragraph 2(II)(d) & Paragraph 3(I) (a) - amended, Paragraph 3(II) - sententce deleted vide NTF NO. 29/2003, DT. 28/01/2004)

(4) The import of vehicles (as classified under this chapter ) by Foreign Diplomats and Other Privileged Persons in this category, who are exempt from payment of customs duty, shall be exempt from the conditions specified at sl. No. 1 & 2 above. However, such imported vehicles cannot be sold in India except to another diplomat or privileged person and are compulsorily required to be re-exported.

(5) The import of vehicles namely, Digital Satellite News Gathering Vans (DSNG van) / Outdoor Broadcasting Vans (OB Van), as classified in this Chapter, fitted with equipments for telecasting shall be exempted from the conditions specified at Sl. No. 1 & 2 above. However, these imports shall be subject to the condition that the vehicle should have right hand steering and controls (applicable on vehicles other than two and three wheelers).

(Clause 5 has been inserted vide Ntf. No.05/2002, Dt. 20/05/2002 in this import licensing note.)

(6) The import of vehicles namely, ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles) which are specifically designed for off-the-road sports, recreation and some farm usage and do not require registration under provisions of the CMVR, shall be exempted from the conditions mentioned at sl.no. 1 and 2 above.

(Clause 6 has been inserted vide Ntf. No.15/2003, Dt. 10/07/2003)

(7) Import of new vehicles having an FOB value of US $ 40,000 or more by :

(a) individuals, (b) companies and firms importing under the EPCG Scheme

will be exempt from the conditions at Sl. No. (2)(II)(c) above. However, at the time of Customs clearance, a Type Approval Certificate / COP of an international accredited agency from the country of origin, including a notarized English translation thereof, shall be furnished. This Type Approval shall stipulate that the vehicle to be imported complies with all the ECE Regulations for the complete vehicle. The international accredited agencies referred to above will be notified separately.

(Clause 7 has been added vide NTF NO. 29/2003, DT. 28/01/2004)

Section XVII
Cha. 87