1.4 Articles not covered by this specification are as follows:
Hobby and craft items in which the finished item is not
primarily of play value
Model kits in which the finished item is not primarily of
play value

Also of value to us is the above verbiage

So is our hobby "not primarily PLAY" ?  Isn't that subject to interpretation ?

Had not noticed this point No 1 from VC,
(reproduced below)
1. No matter how many sections, clauses and Acts you are conversant with, if they want to screw you, they will find a loophole.
And my take on that is , they screw us because we do not know all the Acts, rules, sections and clauses. 

To answer your question Anwar, primarily play value would be derived from the intended use and age groups it is aimed at. If you see the ASTM language, it clealry defines this , like a fishing rod and it's toy counterpart (now this toy counterpart will have a play value not the original fishing rod). However it also clarifies that the line defining these is very thin. Something like a 50 size Heli and a 3.5 channel Heli (now the 3.5 can fairly be contested by the customs authority as a toy and having play value)
I am happy and convinced that for the items I use and import no play value can be atributed to it. 

somehow this thread is now beyond my comprehension.  kindly some one make it easier for me to understand.  Can we import from HK or Not? If yes please provide some basic pointers. Thx

In response to Flyingboxcar, yes they screw us because we are not thorough with the legalities concerned. I agree with you on that. However, there is something called logistics and dearth of time. For example, take my current case (that is where this thread started from):

1. I am at Guwahati, and the consignment is stuck up in Kolkata.

2. http://ipsweb.ptcmysore.gov.in/ipswebtracking/ - I visit the site and all it tells me is that the
    consignment left Hong Kong 5th Nov. Thereafter, they are clueless.

"11/5/2010 6:00:00 PM     HONG KONG     HONG KONG AIR MAIL CENTRE     Send item abroad (EDI-received)"

3. Ditto from the EMS / Speedpost office at Guwahati "Your parcel left Hong Kong on 5th Nov. It
   is on it's way"

4. Luckily Hobby King / Hong Kong Post is more aware of the parcels whereabouts than the
   Indian Authorities. What a joke!

5. I became aware that the parcel reached India on 12th Nov and was detained by the Customs
    thanks to the Hong Kong Posts website. No help from the services for which I pay taxes.

6. So now, left to its own devices here is what would have happened:

a. After a wait (period decided by the honourable authorities) the Indian Customs would send me
    a letter by ordinary / registered mail asking me to furnish certain documents - Would that
    letter ever reach me? If it did, how long would it take? And what blessed documents would
    they ask for and where would I get them from?

b. I would then send them a letter enumerating the purpose and stating the intended use of the
    consignment.

c. The Authorities would peruse my letter and if satisfied, they would release the consignment.
    In my case, that didn't happen. I spoke to them and informed them that I had received a
    clearance from DGFT and quoted clause and sub section attracting a maximum of 35% dutiy
    on the declared value. It fell to deaf ears.

d. They would then ask me to go to Kolkata and meet the authorities and plead my case with
    section / sub section / my thorough knowledge of the law. Then I would spend time in Kolkata
    cooling my heels waiting for them to dawdle and hem and haw through the archaic
    paperwork. After a considerable span of time they would finally agree with me and hand over
    my precious parcel.

e. I would emerge victorious from the Customs Office with my head held high and a battle well
    fought, screaming "Jaago Grahak Jaago" 

f. I guess 7000 in Airfare + 7 days of lodging expenses in Kolkata would be a better choice for
   some who would not bow down to greasing palms, I am made of a meeker mettle.


Flyingboxcar, I mean no disrespect to you. There is no uniformity in this country - not even in corruption. It's all very well to be gung ho when you are armed with a vast cache of legal knowledge. However, there may be cases when you are strapped for time and bound by logistics. There has to be a different approach - "There are different strokes for different folks."

Explain one thing to me in black and white - all the pundits have discussed dates, specifications, toys, scale models, sections, clauses, rules, definitions et al - why is it still as clear as mud for most of us? If it was all so easy, I think by now we would all have been armed with a set of documents and a personal guarantee from our knowledgeable members and a pointwise S.O.P. of what to do when your parcel is detained by the Indian Customs I haven't found that as yet. All I have found is that we are well on our way to acquiring LLB's!

I tried a simple approach and it worked - simple - grease it out. That's my S.O.P. What's even better, I now have a conduit for importing whatever I need, at a price, while others are discussing law.

I am sorry if this post sounds caustic / sarcastic, I have just about spent a fortune on STD calls  to the Customs and DGFT offices and have learnt NOTHING NEW. The same stuff is being bandied about here. There is no point. NO ONE can guarantee that "If your consignment is from so and so place, and it contains so and so items and if the valuation is so and so, then you can produce document number so and so and write so and so letter and your parcel will be released in such and such time frame."

Wake up and smell the coffee - This is India 2010 - nothing has changed..........

My apologies to anyone who I may have inadvertently offended. I am just frustrated out of my mind with this archaic and corrupted system (which people like us are further fueling by indulging the people concerned).

Quote from: VC on December 10, 2010, 09:34:12 PM

I now have a conduit for importing whatever I need, at a price, while others are discussing law.

Do u have one in DELHI? Kindly PM the contact no. Thx

VC bhaiya, will your conduit be only available till the 31st december only??

I think its upto each one of us the path we choose.
1.To lament the state the country,officialdom, systems are, how we are made to pay for services which we 'ought to get as a right, how other countries systems and processes for which we have not even paid any are useful and better than ours, and still not only feed the logistics of the corruption chain oneself but also offer to arrange to do so for others. Or
2.Find out what  one's rights(and duties/obligations) are, and stand for it, refuse to yield to the pressures from some of the corrupt officials, educate others, bear a bit discomfort and delay and be ready to hold his or her head high.
May each one of us choose what he/she considers to be right.
Good night folks, have a sound sleep. I for one 'am sure always sleep well

I choose the middle path - change what I can and accept/live with what I can't. Good night!

Quote from: VC on December 11, 2010, 01:24:44 AM
I choose the middle path - change what I can and accept/live with what I can't. Good night!

+1 VC. Same here. All's Well that Ends Well.

Hi All Regarding such experience I tried to share with you all people but everyone has their own Theoretical knowledge.I think little practical will work.Just go any clearing agent for the info and you will get all the info needed.

http://www.rcindia.org/rc-general-topics/mumbai-customs-experience/msg33032/#msg33032

Ok Anyway if any need help in FPO in Mumbai and EMS in Mumbai Just pm me> I know a middle person who can clear the parcels by taking his fees,But you have to pay the duty.The fees for his services not for the duty.

According to my knowledge of the customs in INDIA, I suppose this wont last long. With the change of customs Inspector in most of the cities, wich is done almost twice a year in Delhi, these all laws of chineese ban will take a back seat...

At the moment EMS, air parcel or what so ever... all are giving pains... It just rolls from one block to another waiting even to be DETAINED... But the LAALAs do not even care to evaluate on the basis of the New laws, which says nothing about the CHINEESE BAN... It is a thing of the past... It was removed when the ban on chineese telecom industries was taken off...

As per my knowledge, it wont last long. and when the storage of Detention centre is full, all the pending parcels will be released without notification... SO JUST CHILLAX AND LET YOUR PARCEL DISCOVER EVERY CORNER OF THE FPO...

The amount of study I did in my school days is nothin in comparison to the study of the indian laws and customs regulation on import of "anything" in INDIA...

Got it! Finally...................
Can someone PM me the link for the Assembly Instructions please. Please don't post it here.

Hey Guys

I am happy to announce that from now on Hobbyking will not mention "Toys" on its invoice. Check the thread on Hobbyking..this is for all shipping types. 

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14555&PN=1

Happy days ahead.

Regards
Ankur

If someone orders from Hobyking with either air parcel, ems or air mail (unregistered)...please post a screenshot of the customs invoice here so that we can see if the word "toys" has been removed from it.