Guide of RTO Rules for Imported Vehicles

This guide gives us very important information related to the requirements that are legally needed for importing or registering vehicles in India. This guide will also give information for imported vehicle registration procedure, testing whether the vehicle is roadworthy or not, and tax liabilities for the vehicle. 

Guidelines For Importing Vehicles

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, there are certain rules and regulations for importing vehicles to India. The rules are almost the same as it exists for registering a new vehicle within the country,  but few rules differ when you import a brand new car or a used car. In the content below, we will be looking at the rules and regulations of importing a new or an old car to India:

Used Vehicle:

We have mentioned some of the important guidelines for importing a used car to India:

1. Age of The Car: The vehicle should be less than three years of age while importing it to India.

2. Road Deserving: The vehicle should be worthy of driving on the road and it should have the certificate of credibility to drive with a validity for straight up 5 years.

3. Side of Driving: The side of driving should be the right-hand side which is according to the Government of India rules and as per the Motor Vehicle Guidelines.

4. Headlights of The Imported Car: Headlights of the imported car in India should simply throw light on the left side of the road.

5. Odometer of Imported Car: it should show the distance the car covered in the unit of Kilometer and not miles.

6. Importation: If you want to import your car then it should be imported only through some specific ports such as chennai, mumbai or kolkata.

7. Importing Certificate: A certificate needs to be submitted saying that this specific vehicle is being imported to India.

8. Transfer of Accommodation: If any non-resident Indians want to import their vehicle to India permanently, then the vehicle will get imported but they can not sell it before 2 years of importing the vehicle.

New Vehicle:

We have mentioned some of the important guidelines for importing a brand new car to India:

1. Origin of Vehicle: You can only import your car from the country where that car was manufactured or assembled and the car that you are importing should be built overseas only.

2. Condition of The Car: The vehicle should be brand new. It should not be used, rented or leased before.

3. Side of Driving: The side of driving this should be the right-hand side which is according to the Government of India.

4. Odometer of Imported Car: it should show the distance the car covered in the unit of Kilometer and not miles.

5. Importation: If you want to import your car then it should be imported only through some specific ports such as chennai, mumbai or kolkata.

6. Importing Certificate: A certificate needs to be submitted saying that this specific vehicle is being imported to India.

Documentation Required

To complete the paperwork and get registration done for importing a car, you need the documents mentioned below:

1. Invoice of the imported Car

2. Insurance Policy of the imported Car

3. The General Agreement of=n Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Declaration

4. Draft of the bank

5. Proof of bill of shipping your imported car from docks to the destination

6. Imported License

7. Your purchase order for the imported car

8. Report of tests related to the imported car

RTO Rules and Regulations for Registration

We have mentioned below the RTO Rules and regulations for Registration of an imported car:

Documentation Required:

You will need the documents mentioned below for the registration of your imported car in India:

1. Form 20: Legal document required to register your imported car to government authorities.

2. Form 21: Another Legal document required to register your imported car for business or filing of tax.

3. Valid Insurance Policy: An official document related to your imported car which will provide you security of coverage of your car if it faces any unforeseen events in the future.

4. Proof of Address: your proof of address will be required to verify your residence or location.

5. Road Tax: it is a tax paid by the car owner for using the public roads.

6. Registration Fee: Registering your imported car in India will cost some fee.

7. Fitness Certificate: Certificate that is issued for the state of your car, whether it is safe, road worthy and environmentally friendly.

8. PAN Card: It is an identification card which is issued by the government to track your financial transactions and for tax purposes also.

Registration Process:

The process for registering your car at a Regional Transport Office:

1. You need to submit your registration application and the required documents mentioned above.

2. After submitting all the documents, the RTO officials will verify the documents submitted by you.

3. Pay the fees for registration of your imported car and the road taxes.

4. Your imported vehicle will be inspected by the RTO official.

5. Imported vehicles data will be uploaded at the central database of the RTO system

6. The uploaded data will be verified by the RTO’s superintendent.

7. Your vehicle’s registration will be approved by the Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO)

8. After approval, the RTO will generate your Registration certificate for your imported car

9. After generation, the certificate will be sent to your registered residence.

Registration Location:

The registration location of the imported car should be given to the authority who is applying for registration where he lives or the permanent location where the car will be kept everyday.

Import Duty

We have mentioned so many rules and regulations in this article and Import duty is one of them. The fees of the import duty truly depends on the condition of the car, whether it is a brand new car or it is a second-hand car. If it is a brand new car then it depends on the vehicle type. If it is a used old car then it depends on the depreciation value. 

Import duty fees is basically paying money in India to bring a foreign material here which you bought in the foreign country while you were there. This fee is also known as import taxes or custom duty. Other than considering import duty, there are many more things that you should keep in your mind while you are importing your car into India which we have mentioned below:

1. You should get your Imported Vehicle registered at the nearest RTO Station in India near you.

2. Your imported vehicle will be inspected by the RTO official to test whether it follows the basic vehicle rules and regulations laid by the Government of India.

3. You should always be careful that your imported car has a valid car insurance plan.

4. Documents that you might need during the registration of your imported car are: Form 20, Form 21, Valid insurance policy, Proof of address, Road tax, Registration fee, Fitness certificate and PAN card.

Compliance Testing 

Compliance Testing means the process of testing the imported vehicle whether they meet the road expectations of the country in which they are being imported. In india, Compliance Testing is done by a number of steps which are mentioned below:

1. Prototype certification: The manufacturer who makes the imported cars needs to send the blueprint of each new model of the car to the agency to get tested for certification. If the blueprint gets passed, then it is certified, else the manufacturer has to make changes into the making of that model even before the production begins.

2. COP (Conformity of Production): Once the blueprint was approved by the agency, this is the process where each and every model is checked whether they are made according to the blueprint accurately or not. The specifications mentioned in the blueprint need to be shown exactly into the model so that there is no compliance.

3. Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA): This is a type of test which confirms that the vehicle meets all the expectations. It is fully safe, environmentally friendly and matches the blueprint design exactly. This process allows the car manufacturer to start selling their car in the approved market area and gives the manufacturer the satisfaction that no additional changes need to be done.

4. Component Approval: This is the process which gives approval to the components of the car. It ensures that the vehicle parts are safe and meet the rules and regulations of the Government of India. It also gives the approval and certification that the manufacturer can use the car parts into assembling the car.

Conclusion

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, there are certain rules and regulations for importing vehicles to India as we all know that it is a kind of trading and that is why we are supposed to follow those rules. This article includes the guidelines for importing vehicles to India which can be old or new vehicles, the documents required for importing and registering, RTO Rules and Regulations for Registration, duties related to importing, testing of compliance and Conformity of Production (CoP). If you want to legally drive your car around in India, follow all the guidelines given by the Government of India. If you wish to get the best car insurance plans for your imported car, you can contact Insurance Dekho and get your imported car safe and insured for any unforeseen event. Stay stress free by following rules and getting your car insured.

FAQs

Ques 1: What are the rules for importing cars in India?

Ans 1: The rules for importing cars in India are very straightforward and simple. The rules are as follows: You can only import your car from the country where that car was manufactured or assembled, the car that you are importing should be built overseas only, the car you are importing should be right-hand drive according to India driving rules and the car you will import should always be brand new and not used one.

Ques 2: How to register an imported vehicle in India?

Ans 2: If you want to register your imported vehicle in India, then you will have to pay for the import duty charges. The import duty charges in India are up to 165 percent of the car you are importing and if you are importing a bike then it is 166 percent of the bike. To pay the import duty charges, you should wear the nearest Regional Transport Office (RTO) station and pay the charges over there for registering an imported vehicle along with the road tax.

Ques 3: How old cars can be imported in India?

Ans 3: Cars that are less than three years cold can not be imported as it is prohibited by the Government of India. 

Ques 4: How much does it cost to import a car into India?

Ans 4: Based on our CIF which is Cost, Insurance and Freight value, import duty varies from car to car. For a brand new car, a 100% of customer tax should be given for a car which varies over USD 40,000. For an old or used car, a 125% of the customer tax needs to be given. This tax needs to be given to the nearest Regional Transport Office (RTO) station for registering your new car in India.

Ques 5: Can I register an imported vehicle in India?

And 5: Yes, you can register your imported vehicle in India. The process of registering your imported vehicle in India involves paying import duties in the Regional transport office, getting an NOC which means No Objection Certificate from the same RTO office and also going through the registration process with the local RTO. The vehicle has to follow the rules and regulations according to the Indian system which will include safety measures and emission criteria.