hello guys n gals...
i have ordered some stuffs like tx, battery, model n bla bla.. from towerhobbies usa. to ahmedabad.
But my parcel got stuck in custom.. I went to custom office n met to superintendent.. He is asking for federal communications commission(fcc) certificate or else conformity certificate.. he said that if i dont bring that he is going to detain my parcel n will destroy it..
Guys plz tell me whr can i get this certificates or else tell me what can i do in this situation to get my parcel.
product details-
futaba tx
hobbico battery
thundertiger engine
some other small stuffs..

plz plz help me

Thank You

i guess they want the FCC certificate for the tx... check this online and you might get it for the model you own.. confirmity certificates is a hassle as you might have to get some testing certificates / reports for the tx which am not sure you can get it unless you talk to the manufacturer or the dealer..
again not sure why they are asking the FCC as in INdia the process is quite different (ETA - electronic type approval from the wireless planning comission WPC which is another challenge)... (i would recommend that you try to reason it out with them with talks and if this might not work then try to ........ if the later does not work too then your package might be in trouble. usually this does not happen but its worth the try

thanx buddy,
 I already talked to towerhobbies but they said they can not issue one certificate for me..
Do u have any idea if i talk to futaba directly they can send me certificate.?
and yes they can you give me email and ph# of futaba..?

Which Futaba radio did you get ?  May be we all can look for the exact FCC certificate.

@parthu_777  - try writing the whole situation and mail to support@futaba-rc.com, it may help you.

RC Bazar, ETA is Equipment Type Approval and not Electronic Type Approval.
 
There are some Futuab radios, which are already type approved by WPC and hence should be easy. Unless you let us know what radio model is that people will not be able to help. If it is not WPC approved model then your best bet is to reason out with them, as it is perfectly within thier right to detain the item.
 

Thank you guys,

i have ordered futaba 6ch pcm tx.
and i am going to mail futaba now.. lets see what happens..

plz plz find me a fcc

what's the model number ? It would be something like T6X or similar

Lucky me,purchased same type radio set from tower..Paid custom duty but no issues like this certificate..Have u ordered any ARF with tat parcel?

what if you show a FCC certificate of some other electronic equipment with the type/model numbers forged??.. I wonder if the customs would take the extra effort to verify the authenticity of the certificate. Anyway, your item will be confiscated if you do not provide a certificate so its just a frantic attempt to save it. BTW, I do not advocate forgery... think it of like "ethical hacking".

-Ismail

AFAIK, FCC has nothing to do with India and vice versa. This is just plain harassment by the custom authority. Usually for - you know what!

stand corrected it is equipment type.. should have know it better as i have recd them from the wpc myself...  parthu_777, you can google and get the fcc for the radio if it helps ...

There are some exposed one, like this one for a T6 2.4Ghz : http://sgravit.free.fr/spektrum/Futaba-FFC-Test-labo.pdf

Fact is that the license being sought is about 1/6th the size of an A4 paper !

If you know the FCC-ID for your model, you can see the license here :

http://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid/

The grantee code for Futaba is "AZP" (which is also the first 3 letters of the FFC-ID).  You can search just by grantee code, but that brings up a huge list.

PS: Strange that you have so far not mentioned which MODEL EXACTLY are you getting ?

I agree with Sushil. However, in most other countries the customs will not allow any equipment without proper radio emmisions certificate. I am in electronics industry for quite sometime and I had just one incident of FCC violation. That was in an airport and its was spotted as our equipment interfered with a 900MHz GSM base band. So, as long as there is not interference you should be fine. Just don't fly near any military comms or airports.. These guys have some highend scanners... If they are after your freq then for sure you will be caught.

From what I remember, existing FCC certification/testing documents are one of the items WPC requires for ETA.  I think Sai can elaborate.

I have said that many times and will say that again, unless your radio is type approved and is on 2.4 GHz band it is not legal and customs have all the authroty to impound your equipment, irrespective of FCC status.
All and any other radio sets (except the ones made earlier by Futaba on 27 MHz AM band) are illegal in the country.
I would also not suggest to forge anything. One can  be smart but do not underestimate the smartness of others, so if you get caught, you run a far greater risk than just loosing money on the radio.

Your best bet is to tell us what model is the equipment so that some one who knows can tell you whether it is TA or not. And if it is you are cleared. If not just request that guy, reason with him, plead with him and next time buy your radios in India or get through someone coming in.    

One thing that i am sure of is that they can not destroy ur parcel. get a copy of WPC Gazette ( 2.4 GHz)_Outdoor.
if somehow u are not able to get u parcel released then simply write a letter to them and pay return shipping fees. they will send the parcel to return address i.e. towerhobbies.

They can impound and destroy articles impounded. That is in the books!! And then sir WPC does not publish Gazette/s. The 2.4 GHz outdoor notification published at GoI Gazette would be of no help unless the equipment being brought in the coutry has ETA issued by WPC. At the cost of repetition will say again, try and convince the customs officer in most polite and in a way that boosts his ego and self esteem, you may just get through without any documentation.
 
 

Hi,
     First thing first, Please do not fall in any confusion.
If the radio is 2.4 ghz which I presume is, there's no problem.
Thousands of cord less phones works on that band in India.
FCC rules does not apply in India.

Did you receive any memo or notice from customs, if yes, find the reason mentioned in memo or notice and reply, for that.
If not do not worry, wait for the written communication.

And most importantly, if you are a student, take guidance from some body who know some thing about customs, or your elders. If you are not a student still I will suggest to take guidance from a person who knows about customs.

All the Best
AkshayB

Its strange.... person can carry Radio with him and but cant order online ? 

because their is no inward entry of items which person carry, while the parcels have to.. also even if you carry then also luck matters but more in favor

To be very clear, we are not talking about FCC "rules".  The "testing and certification process" (like ETA here) that FCC carries out is pretty rigorous and is valued in many countries, and that includes our own WPC from what I gathered.

Even if it is 2.4 GHz you would still need ETA, the millions of cordless phones being sold in India would be ETA before being brought in bulk and sold locally.
As rightly pointed out by Anwar above and others earlier, FCC certification is just one component for obtaining ETA.

While carrying in person, the customs guy are looking for big fish, majority of us while carrying it in our baggage and walking through the green channel are small fry. The guy standing at the Green channels are seasoned ones who know what to look for. But still there are some who outsmart them or pass through in connivance. Next time while bringing in, try making a declaration that you are bringing in a radio control equipment and see how much fun you have with the official machinery.  

Again,
Most of the times people make the mistake of making a personal visit without being called for and end up in this trap. You do not need to go to customs office unless personal presence has been asked for. If you get a call memo notice, just send them the documents they have asked for through speed post/Registered letter (even now you do not need to go there) and 99.99% times the items would be released with duty. In our eagerness to get our hands on the package we indicate to them that we need it badly and this is what these people take advantage of.
Trust me I regularly get, small and large items (as large as USPS allows to be shipped) and I never had any issues, only precaution I take is I do not order direct anything which has Radio.
The first time I imported direct in Bangalore, I did the same mistake and I was asked by the official what the itmes were for, and I told them these were spares for model airplane, the guy said these require permission from DGCA etc etc and showed me the section of HS code pertaining to full scale and walked away. I took the HS code manual and opened up the correct classification code, and patiently waited for him to return after his tea. On return I explained to him these were for small sized airplane models I build, and showed him the correct classification. His next question was if it was for office use (since I was in HAL uniform and the package was addressed to HAL address) and he was informed it was personal. He asked me to write a declaration and sent me off, next day the postman delivered the package with some duty. I made a few visits to Chennai PAD at FPO as well in initial days but since then whenever asked for documents I just send them through post and wait    
Hope this helps

Its somewhat confusing that when a RC Radio is launched in teh market the MFG. co takes care for all the required certification like FCC. If we can go thru FFC details, we can get the report for RF test carried out also copy of Certificate stating that it is FCC approved.

Just like to know "What is need for Type Approval by WPC ?"

The same Radio's were used accross the world by RC Guys.

thank you guys for giving your valueable time,

i ordered Futaba 72mhz 6EXP 6-Channel FM Transmitter/Receiver from towerhobbies.
i tried so much to convience custom officer. but they said tht they are not going to release my parcel.

with redio i ordered hobbico battery n thunder tiger engine also.
so is thr anyother document tht i can show him instead of fcc certificate.

i searched everywhr on google. i didnt get any kind of certificate.
here i am going to attach copy of fcc.

i need tht kind of certificate from futaba/hobbico/thunder tiger..
i ordered these stuff by USPS. and the total amount of order is above $500.

If someone can find the FCC-ID, you can get the certificate at the link I posted earlier.  The FFC ID will start with "AZP".

Anyone here who owns the same TX may please see if the FCC-ID is posted on its back.

72 MHz is not a good sign. That's all I can say.
Best of luck! I will pray that your item is released.

As per WPC India web site Futaba T6EX - 2.4 Ghz is Type Approved.

In reply to # 24, yes the Radio is same all over, but frequencies allowed for aeromodeeling and surface use are diiferent. And all over the world either the Mfg or the retailer, do the necessary paperwork and it all depends on the market in thier geography. Give the limited market in India, the mfg are not very inclined and we end users do not want to buy from the LHS who have type approved equipment to save few.
    

netsecret yes it is but here we are all talking about a radio which is on 72 MHz band

So I went hunting a bit... how do I get the FCC ID when google searches did not reveal it directly ?  I realized that I needed to see photos of the back side of the TX.  Doing google image searches did not get anything useful, so be a bit more clever about it  Searched for "futaba 6exp assan hack" in Google images search, and I got close 

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2765821

Now plugging these values, i.e.  "AZP" for grantee code, and "T6EXA-72" for product code at

    http://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid/

does bring up results (although this is a slightly different model, but should be close enough).

From the results, you can see the all the documents when you click on "Detail" : FCC results URL

If someone has exact FCC ID, that should give you all the details you are looking for PRECISELY, otherwise this should be good enough !

You have done two mistake.
1. You have ordered all in one packet including Tx from abroad.
2. Your shipment value is high.
The same issue has been elaborated several times. Just search and read the previous posts.

I recommend just go careless to the custom that you are not in urgent need and they can do the rescerch all the documents and if they satisfy, then only despatch and otherwise whatever they wish, they can do. Just informing you about what they do and why with supporting document. You will got it withen 3-6 month clearance.

Otherwise, you may Manage . Though I am in favour of first process.

My brother requested Ubuntu to distribute their CD (Free inc. shipping) in Kolkata Book Fair for popularize Open Source Programs (OS + Tools). THey send 300 CDs and customs demanded 50 per CD for clearing though clearly written FREE and all documents attached in transperent Plastic pack. So, they tried us to bend to their dark motif. We dont bend and asked them to return or destroy that informing both sender and receiver with information (Please remember, at that time, Prof. Kalam was a grate fan of open source and Presendent too). After 6 months, it comes to us without any further inquiry by Indian Post. As the pack was heavy, the postman requested to take from Post Office.

Now, Take your decision.
A part of customs rule book may help you attached herewith collected earlier from this forum.

First go and meet the custom officer there. Tell him you were not aware of these items been in the banned list.

Secondly, tell him that kindly send them back to the merchant and tell him to issue you a letter stating the same. Contact tower hobbies and inform them of this. Hopefully, you should get an answer in your favor.

This is what I can think of. Let us know what happens..

I have also tried to find FCC with Freqn range between 72 to 76 Mhz for Futaba, result shown was 194, unable to find out exact type.

Once you do the search based on FCC ID, you can see the actual certificate when you click on "Dsiplay Grant" (the check mark like icon).

The result looks like this : FCC Grant

Ok, got the FCC ID, it is "AZPT6EX2-72", so just plugging in "AZP" and "T6EX2-72" in to

http://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid/

we get the approval here : FFC grant

and the rest of the documentation here : FCC documents

If these documents are not enough, then you will have to do some "social engineering" (playing soft or tough, as you deem fit) !

You are great Anwar !!!

Hey Anwar thanx,
but i am not able to open this link...
the web page says 'The Following Error(s) Occurred While Retrieving The Requested Page:'

did u open it?? i tried both chrome and internet explorer. still its not opening.

Works for me with chrome.

All works for me.

Connect directly instead of proxy if proxyed. FCC is a Govt. server.

@KALYANPRODHAN - Good Job. 

good job sir,,,

thanx anwar....

i got tht certificate for futaba 72mhz 6ch tx....
today i went to custom office and show him tht document...

n u no wat now he wants documents for all stuffs..like hobbico battery, thundertiger engine n silicone pipe n nut bolts n all that,

n also he told us tht he dosnt want money frm me...

nw plz tell me what sud i do??

what type of documents they want?

they want FCC CERTIFICATE or CONFORMITY CERTIFICATE for all the products......

Well I guess this will continue on. Follow what Kalyan da told.

thanx alllllll of u....

finally i got my parcel....
w/o any documents or certificates...

Hi All/parthu_777,

First of all this is very nice to see all your afforts and hardwork to help parthu_777, Specially Anwar Sir.

parthu_777 can u tell me, after FCC Certificate they gave your parcel or somthing else ?

did you gave some other document which is less then A4 size to get the parcel  .

Did you search this forum before ordering the issues with ordering Radio via post and ordering such high value item, instead of now posting ?

1. India does not honor FCC certification for Radios. They need you to Get WPC Type Approval.
2. RC Radio Transmitters fall under 'Restricted' item category under Indian Custom HS code. You have to be lucky like few other or g**** the palms to get you item  through.

Clarification of [1] above... FCC certificates is ONE of the documents asked for during the WPC approval process (FWIK).

It seems like certificates that are pretty small in size have become the standard way out of this situation. Or you might know someone who knows someone.

Just like we can see the FCC certificate for a product using the FCC ID, is it possible to see the WPC approvals anywhere?

See couple of posts starting here :

http://www.rcindia.org/rc-locations-and-clubs/recognition-of-aero-modellers-association-of-india-(n-delhi)-by-aci/msg20965/#msg20965

You will have to figure out your way around the site mentioned.

If you find Radio here, that means it is WPC approved.

http://www.wpc.dot.gov.in/equipment_show.asp

eg. Type 8FG in model and search

Thanks for that. was looking at FLY SKY FS-CT6B. And its present in the link (So that means its approved) . How do i get the Approval certificate (WPC gazette) ?

Woww!! 8FG is listed. But who the hell is importing it!!! No one in the LHS circle has claimed WPC approval. NCC/UAV guys ??

I could see many Fly Sky models listed. I found it under the Search by Type, Category. If we need to see the certificate (WPC approval) for any of those, is there a way ?