How To Ship A Car To India

International Cargo Shipping Ports in India

Did you know that India has several international cargo shipping ports? Chennai, Kanla, and Visahapatnam are three Indian ports, to name a few. People moving to India from other countries should take note about the process to ship a car to India to ensure a smooth move and safe transport of their vehicle.

Want to Ship Your Car to India?

There are a few things you need to know before shipping a car to India. First off, all vehicles imported into India are subject to any applicable taxes or duty fees. Left hand drive (LHD) cars are banned from import. It must be a right hand drive (RHD) car. Next, take note of key documents the car owner must be able to show at customs when the car arrives.

Key Documents to Have When Shipping a Car to India

You must have the following documents before you ship your car to India.

These documents include:

• A customs clearing permit or Import license
• An active insurance policy
• The vehicle's date of purchase and car keys
• The vehicle owner's passport (with at least two years of residence abroad)
• The car registration
• The original invoice from the manufacturer

India Regulations About Selling Imported Cars

Non-residents have a waiting period before they are allowed to sell a car that has been imported into India. Residents of India may sell an imported car immediately after passing through customs.

Why Use an Auto Transport Service to Ship a Car to India?

Simply put, because it is the best way to transport your car to India.

Here is a Real-Life Example:

Ramesh Tajeda traveled to San Diego, CA to visit family over the holidays. While in San Diego, he rode in his brother's car when they drove around town. Ramesh was very impressed with how smooth the ride was.

Ramesh could not buy a car like this back home in India, and decided that he was going to purchase one in San Diego and somehow get his new car back to India.

Before buying a new car in the U.S., Ramesh went online and performed a web search to look up auto transport services near San Diego, CA. Ramesh learned that he would need to use a shipping port out of Oakland, CA or Long Beach, CA to ship his car back to India.

After doing some research online, Ramesh realized something that he had not realized before. Left hand drive cars are banned from import into India. Cars on Indian roads are all right hand drive, and a new LHD car would very likely be seized at the port.

While he was disappointed that his dream of buying that particular car was deflated, Ramesh went online and found some U.S. importers of right hand drive cars. Ramesh was very excited that he might be able to get a car home to India, after all.

Ramesh also learned that if he wanted to ship a car, he would be paying for shipping costs, any insurance related to shipping the car, and any duties associated with shipping a car by boat.

Buying a right hand drive car in the U.S. would only be worth it if he could get a good deal, since the duty was expensive.

Ramesh found an AE86 Corolla from the import dealer and gave it a test drive. It rode like a dream. He decided to think on it. Ramesh went back to his brother's house to tell his brother and his wife of what he found. They were very excited for him.

The next day, Ramesh went back to the import dealer and bought his first car. Now he had to get it transported to the Long Beach port, then shipped in a shipping container back to India.

Ramesh first did a quick internet search of Auto Transport companies in San Diego or Long Beach. He got the following results:

• Professional Auto Transport
• Fastway Affordable Auto Transport
• Autoline Transport - San Diego
• Tapatio Auto Transport
• Rara Auto Transport

He then did an internet search for "ship car to india" and found a great website that provided a quote on shipping his car from the U.S. to India.

Ramesh was able to find the best deal after contacting each company, and had his new car shipped safely to the Long Beach port, and then loaded into a shipping container heading back to India.

The process went very smoothly, and Ramesh proudly drives his new car around in his local town.