Regulatory Report on Import of Drones/Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems/Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), also widely known as Drones, are classified under Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) – wherein there is no pilot operating on board the vehicle.

Drones are further classified into 5 categories –

1.            Nano: Less than or equal to 250 grams

2.            Micro: Greater than 250 grams and less than or equal to 2 kg

3.            Small: Greater than 2 kg and less than or equal to 25 kg

4.            Medium: Greater than 25 kg and less than or equal to 150 kg

5.            Large: Greater than 150 kg

Import of any cargo, including Drones, requires the importer to fulfil obligations of paying tariff along with accomplishing requirements of all the non-tariff regulations. Such regulations are also known as Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs)

Navigating NTBs require research on complex legal regulations levied on imported cargo to meet Indian Standards and comply with requirements of Indian Commercial Market.