RC India

I was doing a bit of research on items banned for import to India and I came across this site-

http://www.immihelp.com/travel-to-india/prohibited-restricted-goods.html

It clearly states that RC helicopters and aircraft are banned for import in India.

Still some people continue to order these from abroad from sites like bangood, inkocean etc.
  
Do such realize that they can land up in trouble if their parcels are confiscated by customs?

Anyone has feedback on this?  ??? ??? ???

so what is your point ?


have you bothered to check - under which sections of which act is this banned ?


you are basing your entire conclusion of indian jurisprudence on the contents of one site ?

I am not presenting any conclusions- I am presenting the facts as they are.

You can reconfirm this on other sites also. It is also there on the Indian Customs site under banned items.

The point is- Anybody has any feedback on how to import RC aircraft and Helis without getting into trouble?

Yes you can "safely" import most banned rc items using two methods:
1) Pay full customs
2) Bribe the customs officer(not recommended unless you know what youre doing)

Things like radios, rtf helis etc can be imported but you will have to pay exorbitant amounts to get it.

Now here Niel has given some good suggestions. I was looking forward to such suggestions.

What I really want to know is- Can customs take legal action against you on importing a banned item if you are not able to bribe them?

Somebody once said 'Flying is an expensive hobby'. Damn- it's true.
Once your imported rtf craft crashes you again have to import parts from abroad. Again you have to deal with customs.

Why don't some electronic engineer members on this site unite and to try making a firm that makes India's own RC toys (Made in India!) Good business.

India is making everything these days so why not rc stuff? It can be done if a few people are willing to take the initiative.

About starting a firm to manufacture rc stuff in India, I'm totally in. I've done b tech in ece, but I don't plan to do a 9 to 5 job. The only thing I'm worried about is there is not much market in India yet for these things.

@admin,
@rcneil21
Can we refrain from suggesting illegal methods?
Hope you realise that this is a public forum, and there is a record of things you have posted.

@rahul010
It costs nothing to ask why someone else doesn't start manufacturing.
Will you make a beginning? Instead of advising others? Advice, after all, is cheap, no?

Incidentally, I can think of at least 3 Indian manufacturers.

1. Sharma Aero, Jodhpur (since about 50 years)
2. A firm in Coimbatore that makes 7 cylinder model airplane engines, retracts etc
3. A firm that makes miniature electric motors

As far as i can make out, 2&3 don't have Indian customers. But they export.
And Bajaj is starting exports of Qute to 15 overseas locations!

Regarding your question 'Can legal action be taken against you if you are NOT ABLE to give a bribe?'
The answer is that legal action CAN be taken against you if you ARE ABLE to bribe!

Regards.

Edit
www.evolutionengines.com

Last month vishal rao of kinetic hobbies offered an own design proven RC model for under Rs4000, including all electronics, and a discount for the first 5 orders. Result: only one single order!
Sir, others ARE trying. So don't be cynical. Do something yourself...

[Admin Note] One word edited.  Mind your language.

Iyyer refrain from posting sarcastic comments here. It is not called for. Are you the Admin of this site? If not just shut up. Do not dictate what people should or should not do.

I am not technically qualified to start a firm. But I casually suggested that those who are technically qualified can do this here. It is a suggestion and not an order. There is no sarcasm here in my post like yours. I hope you have brains here to see the difference.

There can be a market for rc users in India. All Indian members on rcindia.org are proof of this. We all express our grievance here at not getting parts, rtf etc. But if an Indian company started making rc rtf and parts for toys and hobby grade rc stuff it would be of great help.

@rahul010,
Not sarcasm,really, just honest criticism.
(Of 2 things. Suggestions for illegal methods, and asking others to do what needs to be done. Please see my edit regarding an example of someone actually trying)
Since you opted to use rudeness in response, i presume i have offended you, for which i apologise.
Perhaps you could try taking well meant criticism in your stride.
(And maybe even withdraw your unparliamentary remarks)
Regards.

IMHO, posting about the wrong doings of govt officers on public forum shouldn't be a taboo. I would go so far to say that we should expose them by every means possible.

Your not technically qualified to speak to members like that either. I did not sense any sarcasm in Iyer sir's post, only constructive criticism.
Your reaction was immature and uncalled for. Telling someone to "shut up" just because they call your mistakes out is not excepted here.
I would suggest you cool down and think before clicking the post option. As Iyer Sir said this a public forum and the record of our comments remain for all to see.

Ashim.

Iyer Sir just was a joke regarding bribing. Sorry if it offended you.
I was only explaining to OP that to import illegal items.you will have to take illegal actions and if youre prepared for the consequences then its on you.

Rahul why reply so rudely to people trying to help you. Do you even know what you mean by import?

The site you are referring to is for importing and exporting good on person not for ordering from international sites. There are different rules for importing goods from outside india when youre not carrying them on person.
What such important rc goods are you importing? Check indian sites lots of RTF models are available here too.

And take your post regarding Iyer Sir back. He has a lot more experience than you and your elder.

I think we should cool down tempers and get to the facts.

There is a WPC restriction on import of RC transmitters. The notification is available in this forum and I'm also attaching a copy of it. Basically what it says is that 2.4 GHz spectrum equipments are allowed import subject to clearance by WPC. Customs is only the enforcing agency. It clears items which have WPC clearance. So RC items which includes transmitters, receivers are subject to such restriction.

There is also DGCA notification on UAVs. Customs doesn't have any rule restricting import of UAVs. But in a recent case, they destroyed micro quads which One Plus One mobile company planned to give away to their customers. They made the mistake of declaring using the term "drones". So, although there is no notification restricting drones by customs, they can easily confiscate an imported one citing DGCA rules, although, strictly speaking the DGCA rules only prohibit flying in Indian airspace. Indoor flying is not prohibited and technically any confiscation by customs of imported UAVs citing DGCA notification is contestable.

All RC items include 2.4GHz receivers...so strictly speaking WPC rules apply on such items too.

So how is the market flooded with such items? By misdecalartion, non-declaration and in some cases I think by taking WPC clearance. In most of the cases these are declared as toys and toy parts. Undervaluation is also rampant as we all know that Chinese sites declare lower value even if we don't ask them to.

Most of the times customs personnel don't even question the value or the declaration. Packages are hardly opened, particularly the smaller ones. In some cases, particularly when there is a declaration about wireless transmitters and receivers or when they open and find the same, they ask for WPC clearance. Therein comes the issue of bribes. Some people are ready to pay money instead of taking the trouble of WPC clearance. Also declaring these as "drones" is a sureshot way to get these things held up.

As for parts of RC items, except the receiver and transmitter, there is no restriction on importing other components unless people make the mistake of declaring these as parts of drone. Even with such declaration, customs has no authority to confiscate it..strictly speaking.

So to conclude we can say that all RC items which include a Tx and Rx are technically restricted but not prohibited. Also customs is not supposed to hold up consignments citing DGCA restrictions but they are doing so (at least in one case) because the concerned importer did not challenge the decision in court. Its not that all Customs officers ask for bribes for clearing the goods. If they did, it would have been impossible to bring RC items into India.

Finally somebody has provided the information I wanted without talking non-sense. Thanks.

So-Can I safely order a 2.4ghz helicopter with transmitter without getting caught?

I assume the supplier will take care of the issue by quoting it as a toy part or something else, right?

@rahul010 Just a suggestion to have a glance at the profile (left hand side) of the member to whom you are replying. Iyer sir has over 2000+ posts and is a forum Veteran.

Like Iyer sir said, there are many importers and few manufacturers in India who cater to RC enthusiasts but unfortunately it's a trend among hobbyists to order from abroad to save a few dollars. While am not against people saving money but please note that as legal importers, we have to pay duty, VAT and leave some decent margin for us. All this definitely marks up the prices a bit, but please note that if anything goes wrong, it is your local local hobby shops that come to your rescue and not those online sites.

I do not need to check any person's profile. Why should I?

To me any person who can give respect deserves respect, irrespective of his status or accomplishments. A person who cannot give respect will not earn respect, whoever he may be.

I think it would be better if we now stick to the subject.

Has anybody who has ordered a 2.4 ghz craft with transmitter from abroad faced any complications?

Do share.

Thanks.

learn to give respect first...if u can't speak properly to an experienced and aged person than u...then why should anyone help u...we indians have a big heart ,had this been russia u would be hanging upside down ...
 and what an attitude  " I do not need to check any person's profile. Why should I? "

Hello Rahul
May I suggest that you close this thread and instead search for the information that you are looking. Your question and it's offshoots has already come up multiple times and therefore has been answered multiple times as well.
Best...

There's always a possibility that Customs might open your parcel (irrespective of the (mis)declaration by the supplier. And then it may get even worse. Just because many consignments get away does not mean that every consignment will get away. Whoever gets caught may suffer from misfortune and the item may even get confiscated ;) So that's the risk you have to keep in mind while ordering.

Also Customs has X-Ray machines in most foreign post offices. So these days its not totally a hit or miss. Antennas of Transmitters and nature of items will become apparent in X-Rays.

In any case, for most of the items I have found that buying directly from overseas suppliers does not add much advantage in terms of cost saving and trouble vis-a-vis items bought from LHSs.

rahul010

Your impudence offends us ! with some 13 odd posts you come here offend seniors, ask them to shut up, offer no apology, care not to search,research calls for one thing and one thing alone

'Kick some sense into you'

you could be spoilt, pampered brat in your real life. Buddy!! here, you need to earn it, by being humble and showing some respect to each other, young, old senior junior alike.

else

Take your backside to where it belongs, that rat hole you crawled up from.

PS
apologise for telling Iyer sir 'Shut up', before you proceed any further.

Request
Do not even try to rebut my post, if you do i shall too, re-butt you

Re butt :) rofl

Rahul if you are so straight person then you should find your answers on your own. Why post it over here. Moreover if you are not ready to listen the factual answer then why post the question. What wrong did Iyer Sir said. Brother you are not playing in your lawn or street so that you could use such words. This is India's premier forum where we have Gems like Iyer Sir n others. And do you know what manufacturing is?  You have said India is manufacturing everything nowadays, do you actually know what we are manufacturing on our own. Get right your facts first, n learn to respect your seniors. Iyer Sir on behalf of Rahul I apologize you.

Iyer Sir and rcpilotacro may be whoever ..... their profile tells a lot and the entire forum refers to them as Sir.  Even me who has loads of experience in aeromodelling.  Rahul you have just 13 posts and just a bigger...here and you call yourself a plane lover... with so much of apparent hatred to constructive criticism from senior member you have not just hurt Iyer Sir but this entire forum as a whole.  If you wish to proceed from being a novice to an expert you got to take someone as your GURU..... there are they guys who will always give you correct advice.... though in their own way and it is you to learn from them.

Stop being rude and write an apology to Iyer Sir for your uncalled for outburst.... or else the moderator is watching and god knows what he will do to keep this forum open to sane members.  I know the moderator is watching and will do what is the best for this forum

Best wishes

Dear Admins,Mods and Respected forum members,
It it a waste of time and energy making this person understand. Not worthy of the knowledge that this forum has to offer.
Please save your time and energy in responding to him. :banghead:

@rahul, do what you want, order what you want from outside.
Your parcel is going to get seized by customs and you can do nothing about it.
So enjoy throwing your money away.

Peace.

People just don't want to put in any effort in terms searching or doing any homework.  They feel existing forum members are willing to answer the same questions answered again and again. 

Best to ignore such posts/threads, with just one reply to "use the search box".

hello sir plz help me i m really confused i m brininging a syma x8c which is not a smal quad to india via delhi igi airport , i m a student in thailand and coming back after 1 year , will there be any prob with quad ?

Don't getting past customs will be an issue

Can i bring it disassembled without its box n keep all things in different bags

you could try. be prepared to loose it

Sir what if getting in something like a phantom??

JK

Just do one thing, get a big travel bag and fill 25% of it with clothes, now keep the quad carefully and then fill the rest of the bag with clothes ( for protection of the quad) .
2 Things can happen:

1) They would think its a laptop type thing when x raying the bag and would let it pass.
2) During the arrival, just go through the 'green channel' and pass with confidence when the officer is nearby, he shouldn't suspect that you have anything.

And even if the worst happens, just say that its a toy for your little brother.

And, no matter what, do not carry the original packaging or anything like it that may 'educate' the officer about the quad.

And it should work. I travel internationally every 4-6 months and I almost always bring something remote controlled.
And i haven't been asked "What is that thing" even once. Always works and as a plus point, it always has that "khatron kai khiladi" feeling xD

rcbazaar.com
http://www.kinetichobbies.com/
quadkopters.com
rcdhamaka.com
ebay.in

Are best places to get the right product.   To know about other places check for the polls(like this one http://www.rcindia.org/rc-outlets-and-resellers/best-hobby-shop/ )... :) having a huge list of RC hobby stores.
Moreover most of them are active members from the forum itself.
So you can blindly trust them.
They have been in forum and business from long enough time. :)

And searching for a topics will not only give you more info about the topic but the related stuff as well. So keep googling.
(Although i agree on the part that asking from a forum member[Experienced people] can give you a better insight ). But one should search for similar threads before creating a duplicate thread.

By the way, you may ask them to buy a product on your behalf.( They may help you. Because they have already got clearance and they are already paying the extra charges) So getting one more product wont matter to them....
Paying little extra to them would be alot better than getting into trouble with customs nd bribing officials later on(not recommended at all) :).

Guys is bringing FPV headsets like FatShark banned? Thinking about getting one from the US through a friend.

Whenever you buy. Do tell us, how much it costed you.
(You can buy from ebay.in though.......)

Hello

Good to read that only Radio equipment needs WPC approval.

Recently my parcel from China which contained one motor, one ESC, 12 propellers & other hardware like bolts & such things was detained by customs. They asked for DGCA NOC because it contained "Drone Parts" & were restricted items. I had to declare that they were not drone parts & DHL people could release it after 11 good days.

Is it proper action of customs officer to ask for DGCA NOC?

Ashok

Thanks for telling me about kinetic hobbies. Now I have found another site which has cheap rc planes. Just tell the admin of the site to get more rc models.

RC planes completely banned from China. But You can still import from western countries.

I have not faced any problems importing any RC parts from HK, UK and USA via fedex and DHL. The parts were labelled samples and sent by the shippers and they were not stopped by customs. My most recent package with 20+ lipos has been stopped but according to DHL it should get cleared within 48 hours.

so will my SYMA S39 2.4G 3CH RC helicopter with Gyro LED lights aluminum remote 100M control ,which i ordered on ALIEXPRESS for my 6year old nephew will b cleared or confiscated by bangalore customs? since 40 days they r holding it. i visited the bangalore office and official told me it will not b released.

 

I wonder what is the problem here in India... as my friends from Canada are ordering multiple radios & electronics from China & other countries without any problem... and the parcel arrives at their door steps..