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 manufacturer,
(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 Kilometers; 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 manufacturer
(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 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 provision of the Motor Vehicle 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 .
III. Car manufactured prior to 1 st January, 1950 are free for import by Actual Users. Policy Condition (I) and (II) above shall not be applicable for these cars. However, such of the cars that would be plying on public roads will continue to be subject to Central Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and Rules, 1989.
(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 speed meter 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. The country of manufacturer will also means a Single Market like the European Union (EU).
(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 rules;
(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.
- The import of new vehicles shall be permitted only through the following Customs port Sea Port – Nhava Sheva, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ennore, Cochin, Kattupalli, APM Terminal Pi-pavav, Srishnapatnam, Vishakapatnam, Mundra Air Port -Mumbai Air Cargo Complex, Delhi Air Cargo, Chennai Air Port and ICDs – Talegaon Pune, Tughlakabad, Faridabad, Garhi Harsaru.
- The provisions of the notification will not apply to the import of new vehicles:
(i) For the purpose of certification as per para © (i) above;
(ii) For the purpose of defence requirement.
- The above mentioned provisions will also not apply to the import of new vehicles for R&D purpose by vehicle manufacturers and auto component manufacturers. However, the vehicles imported by both these categories for R & D will not be registered under the CMVR Rules in the country and will not ply on Indian roads. The Customs will make necessary endorsement at the time of clearance of these vehicles.
- In case the country of manufacture is a land locked country and the shipment takes place from another country, the vehicles would deemed to have been exported from the country of manufacture provided there are supporting documents to track the vehicles from the country of manufacture to the Port of Landing and from there, to the Port of Destination.
(3)(I) The condition at SI. Nos. 1 & 2 above shall not be applicable on import of passenger cars/jeeps/ multi utility vehicles etc. on the payment of full customs duty by the following categories of importers:
(a) Individuals coming to India for permanent settlement after two year’s continuous stay abroad provided the car has been in the possession of the individual for a period of minimum one year 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 recommendation 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 this imports shall be subject to the condition that / the vehicle should have right hand stearing and control (applicable on vehicles other than 2 and 3 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 import 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. 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 car/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.
(4) The imports of vehicles (as classified under this chapter) by Foreign Diplomats and Other Provileged Persons in this category, who are exempt from payment of customs duty, shall be exempts from the conditions specified at SI.No. 1 & 2 above. Such imported vehicles shall be disposed off in the manner specified in the Foreign Privileged Persons (Regulation of Customs Privileges) Rules, 1957, as amended from time to time.
(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 equipment for telecasting shall be exempted from the conditions specified at SI. 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).
(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 condition mentioned at sl.no. 1 and 2 above.
(7) Import of new vehicles having an FOB value of US $ 40,000 or more and engine capacity of more than 3000cc for petrol run vehicle and more than 2500cc for diesel run vehicles by: Individuals, (b) Companies and firms or (c) OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturers-who have manufacturing and service network in India) will be exempt from the conditions at SI.No. (2) (II) (a) (iv) and 2 (II) (c) above. However, at the time of Customs clearance a type Approval Certificate / Certificate of COP, of an international accredited agency from the country of origin or an EC type approval certificate / Certificate of COP / of an accrediated agency from the member state of EU, 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 accredited agencies have been notified vide Policy Circular No. 12 (RE-2013)/2009-14 dated 15/01/2014
(8) Import of new and second hand (not older than three years from the date of manufacturer)shall be exempt from the condition at Sr. No. 2 (11) ( c) above only for jobbing and subsequent re-export in terms of customs notification no. 32/97 CUS (n.t.) dated 01.04.1997.
(9) Import of new motorcycles with engine capacity of 800 cc or more, by all categories of importers, including (a) Individuals; (b) Companies and firm; or (c) OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers-Who have manufacturing and service network in India) will be exempt from the conditions at SI. No. (2) (II) (c) above. However, at the time of Customs clearance, an EC type Approval Certificate / Certificate of COP, of an accredited agency from any member state of EU, including a notarized English translation thereof, shall be furnished. This Type Approval shall stipulate that the vehicle to be imported meets the technical requirement of EU Directive 168/2013/EU of the European Parliament and council. Such imported motorcycles shall meet the EURO IV emission norms as specify in the said regulation with test producer as per commission delegeted regulation (EU) no. 134/2014. The accredited agencies have been notified vide policy circular no. 12 (RE)-2013)/2009-14 dated 15.01.2024 Also all imported motorcycles which meet the EURO III emission norms as defined in EU Directive 2003/77/EC will continue to be exempted from the conditions at Sl. No.(2) (II) (c) above, until 31st March, 2017. However, at the time of Customs clearance, an EC Type Approval Certificate / Certificate of COP, of an accredited agency from any member state of EU, including notarized English translation thereof, shall be furnished. This Type Approval shall stipulate that the vehicle to be imported meets the technical requirements of all relevant separate directives, as last amended and as listed in EU Directive 2002/24/EC.
- The import of customized Cars/Motorcycles and parts thereof required for the race events shall be subject to the following conditions:-
- The conditions at Sl. Nos. 1 & 2 above shall not be applicable on import of customized Cars/Motorcycles and parts thereof.
- At the time of Customs clearance, a Type Approval Certificate/ COP of an international accredited agency from the country of origin will not be required.
- A certificate from Nodal Agency (to be nominated by Govt. of India) indicating the details of the vehicle shall be required at the time of Customs clearance. Import shall be permitted only through such Customs ports as per Policy Condition (1) (II) (d) (iv).
- These vehicles will be used only for the purpose for which these are imported. Vehicles imported under this provision will not be registered CMV Act/ Rules; nor be alienated/ sold to any individual/ organization /institution etc. anywhere in India. These vehicles shall not ply on public roads and can only be used within the enclosed premises with requisite safety precautions and will not be engaged in any sort of commercial activities.
- The importer shall be required to execute a Bond with Customs with adequate security surety to re-export the vehicle(s) within 30 days of the completion of the event or within such extended period as the appropriate officer may allow after being shown a reasonable cause.
- Policy Condition 1 and 2 [except for 1 (II) (d) (iv) and 2 (II) (d)] above shall not be applicable for import of automotive mining equipment’s, oil rigging equipment’s for operation in captive mines/ oil rigging areas and vehicles for research and development purpose subject to the condition that the imported item is re-exported/ scrapped under certification from the concerned authorities, once its purpose is served. Above condition is applicable for both old/used and new equipment’s/ vehicles. Further these equipment’s/ vehicle shall not ply on public roads, except for mobilization and demobilization purposes.
- Registration of vehicles imported by the vehicle manufacturers or through their authorised presentative in India or by the organization / citizen for personal use, demonstration, testing, research or scientific use etc. Shall comply with the Standard Operation procedure issued under Central Motor Vehicles (Eleventh Amendment ) Rules 2018 and notified vide GSR 870 E dated 13 th September, 2018 by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway).