Dont worry Ranjeet. You will get your parcel. I guess it was sent by China Post. Its one of the slowest in the world. I received a parcel sent by China Post after more than 3 months!!  So be patient 

Thanks for the good news  

Got it! Thanks for all who posted in this thread!
Yipeekayaymf!

Congratzz 

This thread is a Godsend. I don't know if I'm going to get any replies, but I'll try my luck anyhow.
So as it turns out, I was just about to place an order for a camping knife from aliexpress.com. (Look up camping knife on it). As you can see, it's not any ordinary book or mobile phone. Anybody here has any idea would they cause any troubles at the customs. It probably costs less than $20, and is available at local sellers here, but more than $50 here, so that's obvious why I'd like to order it from those Chinese fellows.

Below is a list provided by Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), Ministry of Finance, Government of India:

PROHIBITED GOODS
>>   Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances.
>>   Pornographic material
>>   Counterfeit and pirated goods and good infringing any of the legally enforceable intellectual property rights.
>>   Antiquities.

RESTRICTED GOODS

>>   Firearms and ammunition.
>>    Live birds and animals including pets.
>>    Plants and their produce e.g. fruits, seeds.
>>    Endangered species of plants and animals, whether live or dead.
>>    Any goods for commercial purpose: for profit, gain or commercial usage.
>>    Any Goods in Commercial Quantity.
>>    Radio transmitters not approved for normal usage.
>>    Gold and Silver, other than ornaments (For import only)
>>    Indian and foreign currency in excess of prescribed limits :
>>    Foreign currency in excess of US$ 5000 in the form of currency notes or equivalent US$ 10000 or equivalent in the          form of currency notes, bank notes or travellerscheque is required to be declared on arrival.
>>    Foreign currency in excess of amount legally obtained or in the case of tourists in excess of the amount declared          on arrival or in excess of the exempted limit of declaration at the time of departure.
>>    Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs like Heroin, Charas, Cocaine or in Psychotropic substances is a serious offence and          is punishable with imprisonment.
>>    Export of most species of wild life and articles made from flora and fauna such as Ivory, Musk, Reptile skins,          Furs, Shahtoosh etc. is prohibited. For any clarifications passenger should approach the Regional Deputy Director          (Wildlife Preservation) Govt. of India or the Chief Wildlife Wardens of State Governments posted at Calcutta, Delhi,          Mumbai and Chennai.
>>    Export or Import in prohibited and restricted goods commonly leads to arrest.

As a camping knife cannot be classified in any of the above categories (according to me), I see no reason why you should not buy the camping knife  Happy shopping.

You sure? Thanks man, big relief. 

You are never sure 100%  But I think you can order. Knives are not allowed in hand baggage but allowed in checked baggage in airports. And your order will be similar to checked baggage. So go ahead nd order. 

Its been 40 days since retention? Should i go to custom office now? As i have no hope for receiving letter for sending its billing info..as it is sent marked as gift..so what should i do? Pls suggest me

Rather than going personally, I would suggest writing a letter (RTI) to the Assistant Commissioner of the Customs Office concerned asking for whereabouts of the parcel etc. But the choice is yours  Good luck

Yes right..first i should try RTI..thanks for advice...FTW

Just curious here, but how does one file an RTI?

Simple letter with subject as "Information under Right to Information Act" along with an IPO (Indian Postal Order) of Rs10 in favour of a person (check with respective department), asking for any information you want to know. Formats are usually available in the respective website of the department to which you are writing the letter.

Thank for the info. Was totally unaware of that.
One more questions: Do all items attract custom duty in India? Like if I get a TShirt for $10, would that cost me as well? If so, how much?

Strictly speaking according to rules and regulations, all items imported into India for which the importer has paid money in Rupees (even if you pay in dollar/Euro etc to the seller, ultimately you are paying in Rupees), Customs Duty is to be charged.

Having said that, I have till now placed more than 60 orders in international sites and received the products as well. So from my personal experience, I can say that you are generally not charged any duty if the shipping method is Airmail (Registered or unregistered). May be because its the cheapest and maximum allowable weight is 2kg. Its also the slowest (in India). So may be the Customs office clears the parcel with no duty as a concession for the importer's patience. 

But if shipping method is Air Parcel, EMS or Private Courier you are most likely to be charged some duty on the declared order value.

Sending the invoice along with the parcel is not needed for Airmail option, but is a must for all other methods. Otherwise your parcel will be detained and you'll be asked to send the invoice to the customs office.

In your case, if buying a TShirt for $10, I would suggest opting for the Registered Airmail (items get stolen in UNregistered Airmail)

Humor my ignorance for a bit longer:
I'm placing an order for a camping knife which is $50 and a TShirt for $10. It says that it is available for "Free ShippingtoIndia via China Post Air Mail". Is this the airmail you speak of? And how do I get it by "registered" airmail?
And the idea on the customs that may be charged on it.

Yes its Airmail.

I guess you are buying from Aliexpress. Dont worry. All sellers send the products by Registered Airmail if its mentioned as "Free Shipping to India via ..." because they'll need parcel tracking info if buyer raises some dispute about non receipt of parcel. Some sellers may send by unregistered Airmail if order value is less than $5/$10/$15.

Check product page. If nothing in this regard is mentioned, the the seller will send by Registered Airmail. You'll get tracking ID in the order page once they send the parcel. 

You can track at http://ipsweb.ptcmysore.gov.in/ipswebtracking/ (India Post Tracking), http://globaltracktrace.ptc.post/gtt.web/ (Universal Postal Union tracking) or http://www.17track.net/index_en.shtml (private website, but very good and the one I use mostly). 

99.99% you wont be charged any duty. Just leave comment at order page requesting seller to mark item as GIFT.

That's superb. And thorough. Thanks for the "gift" tip. Cheers mate.

Hi Nair,

any idea about my issue.
Bought some stuffs from aliexpress for just 1400rs. got a call today from postman stating that i have to pay customs of 1860rs. more than 100% value. i asked him to send the product back to the sender and disconnected the call. then got a call from him again and he said its just 860rs since he misread the value with a 1 in front. i asked him for a receipt for the customs duty and he said that it wont come with these stuffs. i also told him im not ready to accept since the product value itself is just 1400rs. then i went to the post office and he said that you might have received any discount on the product but the customs will be charged only on the actual price of the product. i have no clue of it as they were just servos and i haven't received any discount from the seller for this product.

My plan.
I no longer need them as i have already ordered them from rcdhamaka and about to complete my project.
so if there is any chance to get the product without customs, im ready for it. or else ill ask them to return to sender and will speak with the sender.
for a refund.

What says.

Ashok.P

Show him the paid amount as invoice, which will show the actual value of the product, and thus dismiss any claims of his of "discount".

Pay Customs duty ONLY IF you get a receipt. A copy of a receipt which I received from my post office (I photocopied the original actually) is attached.

Regarding your issue, if customs duty is REALLY payable on it, the parcel may be auctioned off or sent back to the sender, depending on what option the sender chose when posting the parcel.

Anyway, you can call the Post Office customer care or the Head Post office of your state (GPO) and ask them on the status of the parcel. Don't forget to ask them if there is any duty attached to it.

If Customs duty has been calculated on your parcel, you cant get it waived unless you have a customs duty exemption certificate. Since its your personal project, customs duty exemption is not applicable here.

Lastly, you can ask the post office to send back the parcel to customs dept for re-assessment of duty. You will need to send invoice along with the parcel. Check the attachment for details.

He showed me some receipt today. it doesnt has any seal and has some unreadable sign on it. and the amount of 860 mentioned on it. it seems that the product was assessed as 2000rs instead of 1140rs and a 41% tax got me through this 860rs. also the receipt doesnt look close to yours. suspect the postman playing on it. Anyways i choose to return the product and asked the seller for a refund.
Ashok.P

Hope you get the refund.

Finally my parcel tracking showing it returned from custom checking after 2 long months, and item sent to domestic location, so am i safe from duty? and will i receive it any sooner? screenshot attached. Pls help guys

Clearing customs doesn't mean its duty free. You'll be sure only when the postman comes to deliver your parcel 

Anyway, clearing customs should give you a great sigh of relief since it took 2 months!!