Customs rules for importing gold to India

August 13, 2022 Finance Talk Valli Sarvani No comments

It is quite common for many Indians to buy gold during auspicious occasions, at weddings and other special days. Indian women like wearing gold ornaments.

Hence, if they visit other countries, they prefer buying gold where it is available at cheaper prices. Dubai is well-known for its gold. It is called the Gold City. So, many Indians buy gold when they visit Dubai.

However, there are certain rules and customs duties for bringing or importing gold from other countries.

There is a limit to bringing gold jewelry from other countries. A male passenger is allowed to bring 20 grams of gold jewelry subject to a maximum value of ₹50,000.

At the same time, a female passenger can carry 40 grams of gold subject to a maximum value of ₹1 lakh. This is allowed as a duty-free allowance.

As the current price of gold is more than ₹4,500 per gram, 20 and 40 grams of gold are not allowed, but passengers can carry gold subject to the maximum value specified above. If they exceed the limit, they have to pay customs duty.

To carry gold to India as a duty-free allowance, one should meet the following criteria. The passenger must be an Indian citizen and he/she should have stayed abroad for at least one year.

The gold is allowed in the form of jewelry. Gold coins and bars are not allowed. If they want to carry in the form of gold coins, biscuits, or bars, they have to pay customs duty for importing gold.

If passengers are stayed abroad for six months and above, they can import gold as baggage. They can import gold up to one kg by paying import duty.

The government hiked the import duty on gold to 12.5 percent from July 1. It also attracts an agriculture infrastructure development cess (AIDC) of 2.5 percent. So the total import duty on gold is 15 percent. Those who stayed abroad for less than six months have to pay a heavy customs duty for importing gold.

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