How to Import/Buy a laptop from the USA to India
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How to Import/Buy a laptop from the USA to India

4 Mins read

In this Article, We Cover the following topics

  1. Importing a Laptop from the USA to India
  2. How to import a laptop from the US to India via Amazon
  3. Other Methods to Import Laptops from the USA into India
  4. Charges to import laptops from the USA to India
  5. The significant steps involved in importing a laptop from the USA to India[/box]

Around the world, especially in India, most people want to purchase electronic products such as laptops, iPods and many more from the USA and have them imported or shipped to India. The main reason behind this kind of interest in buying electronic products from the USA is because of price differences and sometimes the quality of the products. The IEC registration online of  electronic products from the USA to India isn’t easy, as you have to document it and have to follow customs and taxation norms. For those of you looking to buy a laptop or any electronic products from the USA to India, here are the guidelines.

Buying/Importing a Laptop from the USA to India

The most convenient way to purchase and import a laptop from the USA to India is through Amazon. As this online Shopping portal offers international shipping on many eligible electronic products, it makes the entire importing or shipping process significantly easier. If you have a question, like, Why Amazon? Just read this article to understand the kind of hurdles you have to face when importing a laptop or any electronic products from the USA to India, such as customs duties, problems in the shipping address, delayed shipment and so on.
These problems still exist with Amazon’s global shipping, but they handle it for you, so you won’t have any worries importing your laptop. All you need is to order the product in Amazon shopping portal, provide your shipping address clearly and pay the customs duty, that’s it, wait for the purchased laptop at your doorstep.

How to Buy and Import a Laptop from the US to India through Amazon

One of the best ways to buy or import a laptop from the US is to purchase it on Amazon, as this online shopping service provider offers international shipping to almost all products, which makes our importing process a lot quicker and simpler, and also bypasses issues such as shipping address miscommunication, delayed shipment, and customs duties. 
For all people who like to import a laptop from the USA to India via Amazon, first, you should check the Amazon Global Eligible option for the product that you are planning to buy, which will be present on the left-hand side of the product page. Then you have to provide your KYC details while the check-out stage, as packages that are without or clear KYC ID will not clear the norms of customs. You can provide your Aadhaar ID, driver’s license, voter ID or PAN card for this process. After completing all those, you have three shipping options available on Amazon: they are

  • Amazon Global Priority, through which your purchase  product will be delivered in 2 to 4 business days
  • Amazon Global Standard, through which your purchase  product will be delivered in 9 to 12 business days
  • Amazon Global Expedited, through which your purchase  product will be delivered in 5 to 10 business days

Other Methods to Import Laptops from the USA into India

There are other methods for importing laptops from the USA to India, such as relying on an international shipping bureau, like BorderLinx. These companies proceed with this importing process by providing the users with a temporary local shipping address within the US and then ship the laptop or any other electronic products to India. The charge for shipping the products will include everything in the process, such as taxes and customs duties, leading to a significant increase in the total cost of the laptop.
The next option to import a laptop is to ask a friend or family member living in the USA to ship it to you. In this method, your friend or relative can order the laptop or any electronic product of your choice to their local shipping address and then can take it with them while they are visiting India. 
Nevertheless, in this type of importing method, you need to have a willing relative or friend to bring the product for you, or they should be in a situation where they are coming to India in the near future. If you have the opportunity to work with all these methods, then it is the safest method, as it prevents you from various worries about taxes and customs regulations. However, in this method, you can import or take only one laptop, and you have to open and declare the package at customs.
Another alternative method is to buy or import a laptop from the USA or India, relying on crowd-sourced shipping services in which people fly out at desirable dates to bring the purchased item. 

Charges to import laptops from the USA to India

According to the new rules, any individual who has visited and stayed overseas for over three days can buy and bring a laptop from the USA to India as part of their travelling baggage without additional duty or charges. However, in such a case, an individual can bring only one laptop with them as their personal property without paying an extra charge. Therefore, the import duty for a single laptop is zero; however, bringing in the second one or more will incur customs duty.

Export Certificate:

This is a certificate issued by Customs for individual products when a person goes to any foreign country. All high-value products or electronic goods, such as laptops or iPods, taken out of India when an individual goes abroad can be brought back free of duty if the person obtains an export certificate. 

Import of Second-hand Products:

According to the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, the Indian government exempts second-hand electronic peripherals, including printers, monitors, and storage units, from customs duty. However, this is feasible only if they are received as a contribution or donation to the following establishments;

  • Public library.
  • Publicly funded research and development organisation
  • Registered charitable hospital.
  • Central/state/union territory government school
  • Non-commercial educational institution
  • Central/State/UT government-run community information Centre or adult education Centre

The following are the significant steps involved in importing a laptop from the USA to India:

  • Get a US-based shipping address through a shipping agency or freight forwarding company, such as ShopUSA 
  • Enter that particular address as your shipping address while buying the laptop.
  • Click the shipment request on the shopping website and complete the payment process.
  • Track the freight and check that the carrier deals with the customs duty payment
  • Get the purchased laptop at your doorstep

Generally, the customs duty for importing a laptop from the USA to India is 28% and can be split as below;

  • 10% BCD
  • 1% HEdu Cess
  • 2% Edu Cess
  • 28% IGST

 All the above-mentioned methods are best for importing a laptop or any gadget. You can choose any of these methods depending on your requirements and budget.

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