Hi,
A good part of the last 10 days of my life has been spent looking for some concrete info towards guidelines on Motorcycle import.
I am planning to return to India on TR by Mid 2011. So far, I have found the following info in the web - I am not sure of the authenticity of this info, let alone the right sites / faq pages to look up.


Here's what I have as info so far:
2. (I) A second hand or used vehicle shall mean a vehicle that :-

• (a) has been sold, leased or loaned prior to importation into India; or
• (b) has been registered for use in any country according to the laws of that country, prior to importation into India;

(II). The import of second had or used vehicles shall be subject to the following conditions:-

• (a) The second hand or used vehicle shall not be older than three years from the date of manufacture;
• (b) The second hand or used vehicle shall:
  • (i) have right hand steering, and controls (applicable on vehicles other than two and three wheelers);
  • (ii) have a speedometer indicating the speed km / h; and
  • (iii) have photometry of the headlamps to suit "keep left" traffic.
  
  
• (c) In addition, the second hand or used vehicle shall conform to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and the rules made thereunder, as applicable, on the date of import.
• (d) Import of second hand vehicles shall be allowed only through the customs port at Mumbai.
• (e) The second hand or used vehicles imported into India should have a minimum roadworthiness for a period of 5 years from the date of importation into India with assurance for providing service facilities within the country during the five year period. For this purpose, the importer shall, at the time of importation, submit a declaration indicating the period of roadworthiness in respect of every individual vehicle being imported, supported by a certificate issued by any of the testing agencies, which the Central Government may notify in this regard.
• (f) The vehicle has to be submitted for testing to Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE), Ahmednagar, of the Ministry of Defence or the Automotive Research Association of India, Pune or the Central Farm and Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Budni, Madhya Pradesh, and such other agencies as may be specified by the Central Government, for granting a certificate by that agency as to the compliance of the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and any rules made thereunder.

I have a few pressing questions for starters:
1) I have a Model Year 2008 CBR 600 RR and the date of manufacture per the VIN plate is 09/2007. This puts me 6-9 months outside the time limit for import. I heard conflicting info (all hear say, people offering random opinions unfortunately, with every intent to help but with no clue...) that if it is a personal vehicle, I can always bring it on TR. Is that correct?
2) I paid US$6550 for the bike before tax and assuming say, I spend another $1450 on transport and insurance, It comes to a grand total of $8K before taxes I paid for the bike in the US. So, when they use the cost of teh bike for calc'ing my duty, do they look at this $8K figure or the full retail value of the bike (10.8K) + insurance + transport???
3) Gray papers are not an option - I am returning to Mother India with a lot of love for her in my heart and I wanna hold my head up when I ride my bike. as anyone tried the TR route before? Please light the candle...