How much gold jewellery can you bring duty-free under new baggage rules?

The jewellery must be part of your genuine personal baggage, meaning it should be for personal use and not intended for sale

• New Baggage Rules, 2026 raise duty-free limit for most passengers to Rs 75,000
• Foreign tourists can bring goods worth up to Rs 25,000 duty-free
• Passengers aged 18+ can bring one new laptop or notepad duty-free

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The government has made changes to baggage rules for passengers arriving in India, widening duty-free allowances for several goods, including gold jewellery.

The Baggage Rules, 2026, which came into effect February 2,  allow most passengers arriving by air or sea to carry personal items for higher value without paying customs duty.

A resident of India, a tourist of Indian origin, or a foreign national holding a valid visa other than a tourist visa can bring goods worth up to Rs 75,000 duty-free. The earlier limit was Rs 50,000.

The rules also set up a separate limit for foreign tourists. A foreign tourist arriving in India by air or sea will be permitted duty-free clearance of articles worth up to Rs 25,000, provided the items are carried on the person or in accompanied baggage.

The rules replace the Baggage Rules, 2016, a February 1 Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) notification said.

"A resident or tourist of Indian origin residing abroad for more than one year, on return to India shall be allowed duty-free clearance of jewellery up to a weight of forty grams, if brought by a female passenger or twenty grams if brought by a passenger other than a female passenger in bona fide baggage," CBIC said.

If you are an Indian resident or someone of Indian origin who has been living abroad for over a year, you can bring some jewellery back with you without paying customs duty.

A female passenger can bring up to 40 grams of jewellery and a male passenger 20 grams.

The jewellery must be part of “genuine personal baggage”, which means it should be for personal use and not intended for sale.

"... Provided also that a passenger of the eighteen years of age or above, other than a crew member, shall be allowed clearance of one new laptop, including a notepad free of duty in bona fide baggage," the circular said.

The notification makes it clear that duty-free limits cannot be shared. The free allowance of one passenger cannot be combined or pooled with that of another passenger.

The rules for bringing currency into the country or taking it out will follow the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015, and any related notifications issued under these rules.