rooturajHave you sent a package from US to India or are you expecting a shipment from US that is posted through USPS? You may have to face a tough time with Customs. Learn more about Charges you need to pay at Delhi Foreign (SAL), India customs and time taken for clearance.
- Here is a screenshot of my tracking details.
- “Your item is being held in Customs at 5:05 pm on September 2 2019 in Delhi Foreign (SAL), India
Before this, my package was held at Heathrow, London Customs and it took two weeks to get clearance.
Now my package is stuck in Indian Customs. The package was fully paid for and insured. Even my sender sent it as a gift. US customs duties were paid for as well. Delhi Customs cleared it after 4 days. But they levied heavy charges on my parcel. It was a gifted Phone – Samsung S10e. I was charged 12,700 INR for Customs and GST.
*Update: I researched and found out that gift items above Rs 10,000 in value will be charged customs duty. Source: Mumbai customs
It took about 30 days to deliver a package from Boston to New Delhi through USPS. However, when booking the parcel at USPS office we were told it would be delivered in 8 to 10 days.
Never choose USPS for shipping unless price of shipping is the only criteria. They take ages to ship and they do not have clear customs clearance policies. UPS or FedEx are far better options for shipping from US to India.
Hi! I am super happy to find your blog after searching for information here and there. My name is Desy, nice to meet you.
I am having the same problem. I bought a dress from US online store and they sent it via USPS. After 6 days, finally my package arrived in India from UK for customs clearance. Then I had to wait for another 7 days to finally received a notification on the website saying that “Your item is being held in Customs at 4:32 pm on September 18, 2019 in DELHI FOREIGN (SAL), INDIA. Now I am afraid that it won’t get to me on time since I am leaving the country in less than two weeks.
For your case, when the website gives an update about your package held in Delhi, did anyone reach out to you to ask for an extra tax and payment? Did you pay the extra charges after it arrived to your address or how does it work? And how long did you wait for you to get the package after it being held in the customs? Please advise. Thank you so much! I appreciate it.
I have updated the post now. My local Indian Post office postman called me. He informed that I have a foreign parcel and I had to pay the customs duty on it. It was unexpected for me. As it was a gift and the sender had paid the taxes and insurance in advance. However, since it was above Rs 10,000 in value I had to pay the customs duty. Else they said, the parcel would go back.