@Aman..

hi
Here's an update of my parcel.. retained again.. twice.. and retention reason: other 

4/22/2015 8:29:15 AM   India   MUMBAI EMS   Send item to customs (Inb)   Air   CED NEW DELHI (FOR CUSTOM CLEARANCE)      
4/25/2015 12:13:43 PM   India   DELHI, EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   Record item customs information (Inb)   Air   MUMBAI EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   
Retention reason : Other   
5/1/2015 2:11:58 PM   India   DELHI, EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   Record item customs information (Inb)   Air   MUMBAI EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   
Retention reason : Other   
5/1/2015 2:12:51 PM   India   DELHI, EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   Record item customs information (Inb)   Air   MUMBAI EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   
Retention reason : Other   


Will it be detained longer now? and do they reply to emails?? i cant make international calls to them..  would be really grateful for your help
Thanking you,
Abby

4/22/2015 7:46:19 AM   India   MUMBAI EMS   Receive item at office of exchange (Inb)   Air   MUMBAI EMS SPEED POST CENTRE      
4/22/2015 8:29:15 AM   India   MUMBAI EMS   Send item to customs (Inb)   Air   CED NEW DELHI (FOR CUSTOM CLEARANCE)      
4/25/2015 12:13:43 PM   India   DELHI, EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   Record item customs information (Inb)   Air   MUMBAI EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   
Retention reason : Other   
5/1/2015 2:11:58 PM   India   DELHI, EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   Record item customs information (Inb)   Air   MUMBAI EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   
Retention reason : Other   
5/1/2015 2:12:51 PM   India   DELHI, EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   Record item customs information (Inb)   Air   MUMBAI EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   
Retention reason : Other   
5/1/2015 4:31:09 PM   India   DELHI, EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   Return item from customs (Inb)   Air   MUMBAI EMS SPEED POST CENTRE   

@Aman.. finally it has returned from customs!! How much more time should it take now?
   

Hello Everyone,
@ Ravnish :- Hello Ravnish,
Yes so as they requiring a Invoice copy so yes you should send it to them. So did you ask which address it is to be send mate??? If no surely ask them tomorrow and yes one more thing you don't need to tell them that you have bought it or got it as gift unless asked and yes if they ask it just tell them you have bought it but the seller marked it as gift.( Did you buy it and told the seller to mark it as gift or did He/She Automatically marked it as gift??Customs also know that Sometimes Seller mark the Item as Gift so no duties be imposed but what I think is that no problem in that mate)If The Gift is of higher amount they do charge duties there is 50 to 70 % Chance that duty maybe imposed and yes sometimes duties is not imposed. Well First the Clearance is the Target, Right So Just send them The invoice with a Covering letter that My Registered Article No EX012482659SG/With Tracking Number EX012482659SG is Under customs Clearance so I am sending a copy of the invoice. and Yes Ravnish also if possible you can send the Payment Confirmation of how much you paid Exactly that would help more actually. But its okay if you send the invoice as they are demanding that only and so just call them once again ask them the Address to where it should be sent and confirm once again what what documents are to be Send as we don't want to take any chance right
I Hope it gets cleared soon mate.

@ Abby :- Hello Abby,
Well it has Cleared Customs that's why at that time it was examined again and soon after that The status changed to Return Item From Customs that mean it has Cleared Customs and soon it should be sent to Domestic Location Mate.Always almost all of the parcel are sent to Domestic location after Clearance. I hope It gets delivered soon.
Regards,
Aman.

@ abby :- And Yes one more thing to which city or Town the parcel is destined??? Is it near Delhi or Mumbai ??
Regards,
Aman.

I went to there office today.They asked for the proof of purchase.i paid only 118 dollars and they are asking for a duty of 6000 and said that its according to the indian value of that phone.
N the parcel is for delhi

Well I see that well Show them the Invoice and tell them to impose the Duty on that Value you paid for mate. Just try I am sure they will accept it that's why they are asking for Invoice.
Regards,
Aman.

@Aman.. its bound for New Delhi..

Aman i gave them the proof of purchase and told them that this is what i finally paid.They said that they will charge the duty according to the indian value of the phone

Hmm Thats Really Not good going on Mate.Well Which phone is that Mate and yes second thing i know that you really dont want to pay 6600 rs duty because that is equal to the amount you paid Mate. So what do you say? ? Because this has Never happened mate but yes sometimes it is possible as In customs every product Real value is taken out and duty is applied on A Certain amount but this they are saying it is something else.
Well one thing more are they telling to you pay duty there only or on delivery time??
Regards,
Aman.

And yes one more thing to Everyone as soon as they receive their parcels please do update it here.
Regards,
Aman.

The phone is galaxy s5
N i was ready to pay the duty for the value i actually paid i.e. 118 dollars but not this much
And they told me i have to pay it to the person who will deliver the parcel to me

Hmm well yes then the only way left now is to pay the duty or send the parcel back.I understand its really Har to decide as you have paid for the item and also your time is spend on this
Well what do you say ravnish because i also know that as the duties imposed are really high.Well There is one way which i heard that after paying the duties if you think that the duties levied on your Article Is high then you can question customs that you were charged duties that you think is very high and then they will Investigate the case and yes if the duties levied were high and not exactly to their Duties Rates then they will return you the Excess amount but it is after you pay the duties and i really dont know much about it but yes i will surely try to find out.But yes it will Really Take a lot of time and yes it is like 50 - 50 % that the duties paid may be returned or not.
So yes what i think that You should return the parcel.and get your money back mate well this is what i think.But yes No Forcing from this side because i will totally respect your decision which you will take.
Regards,
Aman.

I guess i will return the product :/

If Ever you buy anything from aliexpress ask seller to ship it through singapore post or  sweden post,don't use express shipping like EMS,DHL or FEDex especially if importing into india.
   If living in the US best to opt for DHL or USPS
   Always ask seller to invoice it correctly & add a note as non commercial sample,which might help at the customs destination location,in your case its Delhi I believe.
+1 to what aman said,it'd be good idea to return your order back & claim refund from the seller.aliexpress is good when comes to refund.provide 'em some picture evidence & open a dispute.
I've ordered few products in the past to the US ,but I've never come across any problem as such,but I was offered full refund for one of the faulty product,hope that helps your future purchase
Good luck

Regards
Sun

Yup That's Correct Only that can be done now.Well Just ask them to send the parcel back.
Regards,
Aman.

My friend just received her parcel today.. she was called by the post office guys.. and they charged custom tax.. so she paid for her own gift.. and the parcel's contents were damaged as well... not going to use ems in future..

But my sincerest thanks to Aman!! thanks for providing valuable help throughout.. really appreciate your help.. thanks a ton buddy.. you really help people a lot on this forum.. it was great to get in touch with you.. 

Hi,
Everyone finally after 2.5 Months held at customs i received my parcel today paying huge duty.
Thanx aman for ur initiative.

Hello Everyone,
@ Everyone :- Everyone who had Issues in customs and whose parcels were not delivered or the ones were returned well I am really sorry as I couldn't much for you guys but Even I also feel Very sad inside when A parcel goes back because your money as well as your precious time has been Spent the money will come back but the time wont Well Then also I will try To help you as much as I can.
Regards,
Aman.

Hello aman,
I went to there office last tuesaday and they said that they have released the package n i would have to pay a duty of rs 1700.But even now the package is not delivered to me.

Hello Everybody,
@ Ravnish :- Hello Ravnish,
Well as your telling me that They have cleared the package but still actually in the Tracking Log if you check it you will see that it has not cleared customs but as they have told you they have released the package so it should be updated well no problem just contact them once and ask them its not send to Domestic location yet and yes don't worry if they released it then it should reach you soon so just contact then once.
Regards,
Aman.

Just gone through this thread and its really nice that this has cleared a lot of doubts. Thanks to all helping out ppl regarding customs.

some one has advised to use Singapore post or Sweden post for buying from abroad. Just wanted to know if there is any specific reason for this.

Hello Everyone,
@ GP :- Hello Gp,
First of All Welcome To This Forum. Now Actually What happens is that Always Singapore Post Has been Very fast  Means its Transit is very fast.Now If you see customs clearances takes times always if its Prohibited Product or a Product which has High value even sometimes for Gifts or Also For Small articles. Even In Sweden post this is the case but yes it does take time for Outward Dispatch of The parcel From Their Country I mean the Overseas Departure Takes Time. And Also People Say that China Post is Slow ( No Offence to any one  ) but sometimes the Article does reaches fast. So it all Depends on The Customs Clearance Process and how the Sender Country Postal Department Dispatch It to Destination Country.
If you see in EMS ( its a Fast service And People Does pay about 17 to 25 $ extra for This Service ) but still Some articles may take a month For Clearance yes it happens.
Even in my Experience Sweden post one time they 20 to 25 days to Dispatch The article from Their Country Terminal To India.
I hope This Clears your Doubt
And Also If you use Registered Post Chances Of Getting Customs Duties Are very low.
Regards,
Aman.

Thanks for the warm welcome Aman . I was reading through this forum as a guest actually. Appreciate your quick reply on the query I raised. I trust Chennai customs is lenient when compared to Mumbai and Delhi I guess.

Hello Everyone,
@ Gp :- Hmm Well Cant say actually about who is More Lenient but yes one thing I am sure is that When There is Prohibited item or Restricted Item your article will surely get cleared.
Regards,
Aman.

Thanks Aman, Any idea how long does it take for customs clearance ? Item was sent to customs on 8th as per tracking info. lol.

RP408330834SG