You Can Now Import 50-Year-Old Cars But There’s A Catch

In a landmark move for classic car enthusiasts and history buffs, the Government of India has made amendments to the vintage car import policy. Now, any car older than 50 years can be imported to India without an import licence. 

What this new rule states is that only actual owners will be allowed to import the cars without a licence and it cannot be put on sale after that. This means that only people who will use the cars can import the cars, not dealers. While this is good news for classic car enthusiasts, it comes with a small catch. 

And the catch is that the imports have only been made licence-free and not tax-free. Importing a classic car will still require you to shell out 250 per cent of the traded value which includes customs duty, GST and registration. 

Another catch is, these cars need to comply with the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicles Rule, 1989. So, cars need to be road-worthy and meet the emissions standards, but older vehicles might get exemptions based on their historic value. 

So what’s the 50-year rule then? In 2025, anyone can now import a car manufactured and first registered abroad before 1975. And since this is a rolling rule, cars manufactured and registered in 1976 will become eligible in 2026 and so on. 

The new import policy will not only affect vintage and classic car collectors but also people involved in their upkeep. Getting new vintage and classic cars in India will create new business opportunities for restorers, mechanics and upholsterers in maintaining these old cars.