Buying the iPhone from the USA and shipping it to India is not cheap after adding customs duties and GST tax.

Indian government charges customs duty on importing phones from China, the US, Canada, the UK, or Australia.

You have to pay for shipping, insurance, and customs duty in India along with GST tax for sending any phone including iPhone, Google Pixel, Samsung Note, and Samsung S series to India.

You may be paying much more for a smartphone if you decide to buy from the USA and ship it to yourself in India, the legal way.

Custom Duty, Taxes in India

Indian Customs duties and GST tax are due when you import mobile phones under the cell phone category.

Indian customs will find the CIF value for the iPhone or mobile that you are importing to India.

The CIF value is a total of:

1. the price paid for the goods (including sales tax) +
2. the cost of transportation +
3. loading, unloading, handling fee +
4. Insurance fee +
5. any other fee you pay for the delivery of goods from the place of export to a place of import

All other charges are calculated on this CIF value. 

Example:

In our example, this CIF value is the total money that you have spent on the item in the USA including all sales tax.

If you convert the dollar amount to Indian rupees with a conversion rate of 1 USD = INR 83, it probably makes no financial sense to ship it.

It would probably cost around 144k Indian rupees (equal to $1735) to send it to India.

Instead, we would suggest buying directly from India.

iPhone Global Warranty

Apple does offer a global worldwide warranty on its products bought in the USA.

This means that Apple’s official store in India should be able to help you fix or replace the iPhone in case it stops working within 1 year from the date of purchase (receipt date).

Apple’s warranty says they will:

1. Repair the hardware defect at no charge, using new or refurbished replacement parts, or
2. Exchange the product with a product that is new or which has been manufactured from new or serviceable used parts and is at least functionally equivalent to the original product, or
3. Refund the purchase price of the product. Apple may request that you replace defective parts with new or refurbished user-installable parts that Apple provides in fulfillment of its warranty obligation.

Send Locked iPhone

You will also need to make sure that you send the unlocked iPhone to India or you will need to find someone who can unlock the iPhone for you.

Unlocking can be done but it sometimes results in making the phone unusable. So, be very careful.

Many people buy the iPhone from service providers like ATT, Verizon, and T-Mobile with insurance and then send it to India.

They then, claim the insurance for the lost iPhone and try to get a new one.

1. First, this setup is illegal as per US law as it is considered fraud with insurance companies.
2. Second, the insurance companies have become smart and they have now added a co-pay and the deductible to make sure you do not get any such ideas.

Someone recently shared this picture of an Apple launch event with me which sums up the need to upgrade to a newer iPhone every year!

FAQ

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It is pretty simple to give your friend or relative physically present in the USA the power to sign a car sale agreement on your behalf.

Many people face issues with managing their property, car loan, or car sale if their US visa gets denied or face a long delay due to form 221g administrative processing.

How to create Power of Attorney?

Each US state has its own rules with respect to the power of attorney for the sale of vehicles.

I will take the example of Texas as that’s what has been tried and tested for this article.

Car sales in the US done using POA are considered legal. We are taking the example of Texas but the process is the same for each state.

How to create Power of Attorney in the USA:

• Texas DMV has a special Power of attorney form called VTR-271.
• You can download, print, and fill out the form.
• Sign, scan, and send a color copy of the form by email to your friend in the USA.

In this example case, the buyer was a US citizen and the person selling the car was working on an H1B visa in the US.

The H1B worker moved outside America and then was stuck in form 221g H1B stamping delays.

The car sale was executed using this POA by a friend in the state of Texas. A valid passport copy of the car owner was also given to the buyer.

This process is also helpful in case your US visa is denied and you cannot return to sell your belongings.

Documents Required

1. Power of Attorney.
2. Valid Photo ID – US driving License or passport copy.
3. Original Car Title.
4. Car Sale Agreement on plain paper.

Your friend in the USA, preferably in the same state, can take a color print of this POA and use it to sign your car’s title and sale agreement on your behalf.

Power of attorney is a legal document and you should attach your photo ID proof to make it authentic.

Notarization of PoA

Some states may require a notarized power of attorney before you can use it to sell a car.

There are two options for a notary:

• If you are in the USA at the time of the creation of the POA, you can simply visit any closest public notary and sign in front of them.
• If you are outside the USA, you can use the services of an online virtual notary.

Texas DMV’s POA form does not need a notary at this time.

Remote Notary from Outside USA

You may not be able to enter the US territory due to visa issues and the solution is to use a remote virtual notary.

The virtual notary will have a video call on Skype or similar video chat software and will ask you to show your valid photo ID.

Once verified remotely, a notary in the US can stamp your document and make it a legally notarized POA.

Some of the Online Notary companies that offer end-to-end remote notarization systems are:

• DocVerify
• Notarize
• NotaryCam
• Pavaso
• Safedocs
• SIGNiX

Online notary fees vary with each website. You can expect to pay from $20 to $100 per document notary.

National Notary organization has listed the states that have passed the remote notary law and which one is scheduled to pass soon.

FAQ

The post Sell Car in USA with Power of Attorney (Virtual Notary Allowed) appeared first on AM22Tech.

The move to Canada from the US is easy except for the transfer of a Robinhood account.

Robinhood is not available in Canada as of writing this article. We will update it as and when this changes.

Also, if you move to Canada permanently, meaning that you are not maintaining a physical presence in the US, then you are also not eligible to maintain your Robinhood account.

This is mandated by IRS rules and not Robinhood.

What happens if you Move to Canada?

Robinhood will detect your location as and when you log in to your account. Once they detect that you are outside the US, you will need to re-verify your US address with a government-issued photo ID card with a US address.

If you still have a valid ID, you may be able to extend your Robinhood use until the ID expires.

Many people who move to Canada on PR use the VPN to hide their real location. This may be helpful for a short period since Robinhood forces you to sell all your investments once they detect that you are not a US resident anymore.

Restrictions on US Accounts

Creative Planning recently reported that most banks and almost all stock brokers have added these restrictions for non-US residents due to stricter FATCA and European Union rules.

I found this Reddit thread where a Fidelity representative has cleared the confusion. The important points:

1. You can maintain your existing US accounts, but cannot create new accounts.
   • You should be able to create a new account with the same company’s entity in the destination country though.
   • Example: If you move to Canada and Fidelity offers stock brokerage as ‘Fidelity Canada’, you should be able to open a new account with them and start trading afresh.
2. Trades (buy and sell) of most individual US stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are allowed.
3. Purchases of new US mutual funds or adding to MFs will NOT be allowed. Automatic dividend reinvestment will be allowed.

Merill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Charles Shwab also have similar restricted rules as Robinhood for non-US residents.

The grace time may vary by each broker company.

Most of them use the app installed on your smartphone to track your device’s IP address to find your physical location.

You can of course sell your shares anytime but new deposits are not allowed.

Do not worry about the control of your account. Even though your account will be restricted, you maintain control over when investments will be sold.

401k Account

You will be able to hold your investments in a 401k account and not be required to sell them immediately.

As per IRS requirements, your brokerage firm (like Robinhood, Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, etc) will need you to fill out IRS form IRS W-9 or W8-BEN for correct tax withholding on withdrawals.

You should ideally wait till you reach retirement age to sell and withdraw 401K money to avoid early withdrawal penalties.

Credit Cards

If you have a branded credit card through Fidelity, Charles Schwab, or Robinhood Gold card, you can keep using it normally.

There is no restriction on using those cards outside the US as they are issued through a separate bank entity.

Treat them just like any other credit card you have.

Robinhood Restricted Access

Robinhood restricts access from certain countries that do not have good relations with the USA.

These restrictions are meant only for people who are temporarily traveling to these countries. It only means that you being a US resident, cannot access your Robinhood account while you are physically in these countries unless you bypass it through a VPN connection.

Social Security Outside USA

Social security account is managed separately by the SSA.GOV government entity.

The rules for social security are different than the rules for stocks and securities.

Your Social Security account can be maintained from outside the US and you will stay eligible for receiving the Social Security amount from outside the USA.

FAQ

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