How to ship TV to India

In this video, I share insights learned from the community about how to ship your TV to India, when returning back.
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So, one of the most popular questions in the backtoindia community is “whether you should ship your TV to India, and if yes, what’s the best way to.” In this video, we’ll look at this topic from different angles and try to answer it in a logical way. Let’s go.

So, coming to shipping TVs to India. Let’s look at why someone would want to ship their TV to India in the first place.

There are two major reasons. One is, that TVs, especially the big and latest technology ones are cheaper when bought in the USA.

If you check and compare the prices online, you will notice that the prices are significantly different in USA and India.

Second reason is that some folks may have an emotional attachment to the TV or would want to have and use the same TV they were using over the years. Fair enough.

So, is it a good idea to ship TVs to India?

There is more to this that we need to look at.

Let’s ask some questions.

First, are you moving back to India?

Are there other personal belongings that you are shipping?

How are you shipping your stuff? Do you have a container booked or are you sending the TV stand alone?

Or are you sending it via Air? Or, are you taking it as hand baggage during your flight?

These are the different scenarios we have to look at.

Let’s start from the not-so-good scenarios.

Taking your TV as hand baggage during flight.

This scenario sounds like a pretty straightforward one.

While it is technically possible to take your TV as hand baggage, there might be issues you’ll come across.

Like for example, how big is your TV?

Many airlines have limitations on the number of pieces of luggage you can carry.

While it is safe to say that you can have as much extra baggage as possible, depending on your ticket fare, class and flight, it may be a good idea to check with your airline prior to departure whether they allow TVs in carry bags or as luggage.

So, the other better method to ship your TV to India is via a shipping agency.

There are two options here.

One, you can take your TV along with all the other items you are shipping, like in a container or with a large shipment.

Second, you can ship your TV alone.

From our experiences in the community, my learning is that the best way is to send your TV along with all your other stuff.

That way, the TV is along with other stuff, doesn’t need to be examined individually and overall, doesn’t raise any issues with customs.

Those folks who were successful in shipping their TV to India, had their TV shipped along with their other house hold items.

The advantage in this case is that, the shipping agency gets approval and clearance from customs comparatively easier as it is a transfer of residence.

So your TV is treated as a household item.

Now, compare this scenario to when you’re sending the TV by itself. The chances of it getting flagged by customs is more. There might be thorough checks and screening for obvious reasons.

Plus, you might have to pay duties to customs for importing a TV. How much is that going to be depends on your TV brand, market value etc and can go anywhere from 10 - 30% of the market price as determined by the customs officers.

This is a grey area, so take this information with a pinch of salt.

So, the easiest way to get your TV shipped to India is through a shipping agency, along with your other household items during a transfer of residence.

In this scenario, the chances of your getting charged for custom duties on your TV is less unless of course, it is a brand new TV or if there are many TVs or something like that.

Finally, some tips for shipping your TV safely.

One, make sure that you opt for a wooden box packing. This is a great way to make sure that there are no damages.

Two, make sure that you carry a warranty card and purchase details, just in case customs ask for it.

Third, and a very important point - if you are shipping your TV alone without your household items, there is a high chance that you will have to show up at the port of entry at the customs office directly for verification purposes.

This is because you are shipping an electronic device which can be subject to verification and clearance.

While you are shipping your household items and your TV along with it, you might have to give your passport too for verification at the customs port of entry. Usually, the shipping agents will do this for you.

So, there you go - those are the things I wanted to share with you regarding sipping your TV to India. Most of these are insights from our WhatsApp and Facebook group.

Every other day, someone asks this question and I thought it would be a good idea to make a video for reference. Hope it was useful.

If you have more questions, feel free to join our community at backtoindia.com.