Shipping Pets to India:  Why You Need a No Objection Certificate

Today we had a comment on our post titled "Moving Pets to India?  Be Prepared to Be Patient."  The anonymous commenter was accusing us of being  wrong about the requirements of a No Objection Certificate, and whether they are required in advance.  I thought the comment was worth posting in its own blog, given the fact that there is so much confusion surrounding pet moves to India (hence the title of the previous post).

Below is a view of the official government document issued by India that states they require, as of September 15, 2008, an "Advance NOC" prior to the pets arrival.  You will see that they used to issue a NOC after arrival (like you are stating, and like JetAirways states on their website) however due to having to send pets back to their place of origin because the paperwork wasn't in order, they now require a NOC to be issued in advance.  I've quoted the important parts from the document below the document view (emphasis theirs):

 NOC Official Document - PetRelocation.com

It was observed in the past that the airline was lifting livestocks without knowing the health requirements of the country.  After arrival of the animals without proper health requirements/guidelines of GOI, it is very difficult to deport or destroy these animals.  The step of giving ADVANCE NOC is necessary to prevent the entry of livestock which are not fulfilling the health guidelines.

As a company there is no fiscal or moral benefit for us to make up documents or requirements for another country.  It only makes our job harder to obtain these documents, and assist people as best we can (often times for free, like we did here) who are unable to obtain them on their own.  I even suggested to the second commenter that she try to get a friend or family member to help her with the NOC so she doesn't have to go through us or pay a customs agent.  I see no benefit to pet relocation companies in that.

Regarding Hyderabad and your link saying they allow pets to enter, it merely states that pets can enter as "excess luggage" now. They still cannot -- to our knowledge -- arrive as manifest cargo or unaccompanied luggage.  This means that they must arrive with their owners, or not at all.  We send pets into Hyderabad and have moved them out as well, however we always have to have an agent accompany them.  In the case of the pet owner who would like to move their pet as cargo, they are not able to move them into the country.  Your link says so clearly:

• Pet dogs and pet cats along with accompanied baggage as permitted under baggage rules;
• Laboratory animals such as rats, mice and guinea pigs for Research and Development purposes

Also, I would like you to pay attention to the fact that we were 100% truthful in this scenario, as the pet owner was moving to Goa (so the issue of Hyderabad didn't even come up) with a sugar glider, which is neither a pet dog nor a pet cat, nor a "laboratory animal." 

You should consider getting your facts straight before you begin accusing someone who is merely helping others a fraud.