Help!! Customs Duty on my Alienware!!

Guys, I'm currently in India and my parents in the USA. Ordered an Alienware M15x and it will reach them in a few days. The problem is, my cousins in the US are saying that you'll have to pay Customs Duty (tax??) at the airport if you get try to transport the box as is.

I don't want my parents to open the box since I want to open it myself, when they return to India in a few weeks. So is there a work around and avoid the Duty?

 

Opening the box IS the workaround. Anything newly bought from overseas will cost you customs duty when your parents reach home. Leaving it in a brand new sealed box just makes it 10 times more obvious. You can try just opening the external box and flip it inside out so it doesn't show the labels, rip some of the cardboard so it looks crap and old, draw some stupid drawings on the box, smear some sauce on the box and then wipe it down so it looks dirty, etc. Just hope they don't check the inside

 

The machine is packaged in the "retail" package, and than that box is inside a plain black box. Have them open the plain black box, flip it inside out and than put the Alienware back inside.

I do this all the time to ship things so it's less obvious what may be inside and to just avoid attracting the wrong attention.

 

LOLz at da replies above!! does it really work?

Another solution which I think is possible, is that to remove the laptop(not from the sleeve though) in put in my new laptop bag and put all accessories I get into the bag. This will spoil the unboxing though.

What do you guys think??

 

That is definitely the best way. For me personally unboxing is no big deal so I'd rather tell my parents to put it sleeved in the laptop bag, chuck all the accessories in the luggage, and leave all the packaging behind (they are very bulky and I'm sure your parents won't mind not having to carry all that crap around which you will throw out after the first few minutes anyway). The first boot (and knowing you saved on the customs duty) is more special than the unboxing!

 

i know what you must be going through right now (I'm in pakistan, and hav to deal with same customs issues at the airport too)....the absolute best way to get around customs duty is to put the laptop in the laptop bag, and either put all the accessories in the bag, or in the check-in luggage (basically to get around the duty, you have to make the laptop seem like its in use already, and not brand new)....or what you could do (as stated above) is make the box look used and battered, and if they try and charge customs on it, you can state that the laptop was taken from India to america to be repaired, and that you're just bringing it back after repairs (hence its "used")

now, another option that you have is to take the whole alienware box and put that inside a bigger box and then just throw some clothes and other stuff in with it, so from the outside it'll just look like a plain box with clothes in it

however, what also matters is ur customs laws...for pakistan, someone coming into the country is allowed to bring one laptop (new) with him/her-self without being charged customs....so it also depends on what ur customs laws state....and it also depends on how strict the customs officers are at checking luggage for taxable items (over here it varies greatly, but usually they dont check unless someone or someone's luggage looks suspicious)....so in the end, in my opinion, the less suspicious it looks, the more chances u hav of not paying customs....

oh and dont forget to post up some pics once u get it!!

 

@Corthalis
Yeah the first boot matters to me too! So since I've seen a lot of unboxing videos on youtube, I think I can give that a pass. I just don't want anyone to look at my machine before me

@rahz
oh man, I see you've given me a lot of options! Will certainly try one of those but I think I'll go with my 2nd option I put in front of you guys, that looks the best way possible. BTW yeah pics will come soon on the picture thread

I'll rep you all Just cause you eased my tension

 

@powerboy_ap

glad i could be of help ....btw when are you expecting to get ur machine?? and great specs!

i know its a little off topic, and i apologize in advance, but i've been thinking of buying an m11x in dec/jan (need to sell my custom made desktop first)....any opinions on that machine? (i basically need something i can carry around with ease and a max screen size of 13 inch, and still be able to game on)

 

@rahz
EDD is 11/10/2010 , I'll receive it in India by 11/29/2010. Its my 1st laptop, so its special to me

for your M11x, if the small glossy screen, n medium specs(mind you, specs are still very high for a laptop of that size) don't bother u, that's the laptop you should buy. The only major problem you should look out for, is the "hinge problem". If Dell/Alienware has found a fix for it, that laptop is awesome.

In fact, M11x was my 1st choice, but the so called rumours (maybe true) of the extremely glossy screen,the hinge problem,the medium specs and a bit difficult upgradability factor made me select M15x as my option, since it looks more future proof than the M11x.

 

I take mine to Israel and Manila ones a year each
i took it in brand new still in the box to Manila and didnt have any issues i was not living there though however i was staying for 5 months origianly but only staryed 3 of those
didnt get charged any duty

 

do your family plan on comming back to the US question Aslong as they return with it to the us then they wont get charged i think
or are they only here in the US visiting and they wont be comming back

 

@Thumper_pup

As far as I know, they're going to make another trip to the US(its just a visit, like this time), but maybe after a few years. That's it.

 

if im corect then you just make sure they go home with a brick or something hevy in the box that it comes in make it look like it is all the same
but inside aslong as it wieghts about the same then then the goverment willt hink they are leaving with what they took in and wont have to pay duty on it

 

:confused2: Sorry I didn't get you. :confused2:

 

It took me a while to understand as well but I got you. the idea he proposed earlier saying, that if they bring it over they wont be charged and duty or tax as long as they take it back with them, and he's saying that when they go back to USA then instead of taking the laptop back with them, they can take something like a brick of similar weight with them back so customs will see that your story is true.
But IMO that idea is a bit useless ( no offense ) i dont think they will ever remember that 4 years ago this couple brought in a laptop weighing this much, now that they are going back they promised to bring the laptop with them. they have bigger things to worry about. Immigration, passports, ...... things like that. plus new laws might be put in place, new people will be there it really wont make a big difference at all

 

but i think he said its just a trip
now if they are staying for years then yeah of cours they are gona have to pay duty or tax on anyting they take in but if its a vacation and they ar enot styaing and going back then thats difrant

 

from what I understand, His grandparents took a visit to US not India lol, and they will re visit US after a few years, so they are coming back home to India

 

Either way, I don't see someone remembering something like a laptop on customs for someone visiting in person. I know the guys on the US borders wouldn't.

 

no not reimbursing but if you dont live there and are just visiting they wont charge you at all but if you leave and they find out your dont take with you or if your not palnning on returning alreayd then they will cahrge

 

the unboxing is not quite as exciting as it is hyped up to be. throw it in a bag and get her done.

 

You're getting it all wrong. He's going to get charged the customs duty in India, not in the US. In fact, if he got taxed for the purchase in the US he can claim the tax back in the US airports when he's leaving the country. It's the Indian customs he's worried about, which is the whole point of this thread.

 

Correct! but lol it's my parents visiting USA, not my grandparents.

I plan to take the delivery package as whole, back to India. Can that be a problem at the Customs?

Yes, I got taxed on the purchase. So if I claim the tax back at the US airport I can buy a few PS3 games with that money By the way, I'm worried about both the Customs, US and India.

 

US customs has no business charging you for things you're bringing out of the country. Their only job is to return you the taxed amount from the purchase. It's the Indian customs that will charge you the tax when you arrive if they suspect it being a new item purchased overseas. The purpose of taking it out of the box is so that the country you're arriving at (in this case India), does not know it's new and thus won't tax you on the purchase.

 

I'm one of the few es to pay custom charges, importing it directly into India from Ireland (Area 51 m15x)
I had to pay about INR 22,000, plus some more cash towards some ancillary costs. I could have bought it through a friend in the UK, but I preferred getting it like this as I could safely send it out of the country for repairs without any extra cost, and no headache when coming back after repairs. Warranty repair and returns are a huge PITA in India. Of course, this was before Dell completely took over, and I think Dell honors international warranty (?).
So yea, I'd agree with Corthalis, just get it in a laptop bag, no headache thereafter.

 

So guys, my M15x has reached my cousins place in the US In a few days, it will reach India! woohoo!!

 

I am going to quietly close this thread now as we may be getting into issues with defrauding customs
That's, as you all know against forum rules

Btw: In my personal experiance , when I have received items from sellers in the US to me in Canada marked as a gift,if the item has value over $50 or so,
Customs charges duties on it
That might not be true of all countries , but have cash on hand when picking up an item shipped as a gift