Q.842 Taking gold coins from USA

to India. Customs duty on gold

coins

Question: I would like to know if US citizen, OCI card holders can take gold coins to India to make there own Jewelry. Are they suppose to pay duty on coins, even they are going to bring back to USA, may be in jewelry farm. Thanks! [January 28, 2016] Answer: While Indian origin passengers residing abroad for over a year are allowed to import gold jewelery up to an aggregate value of Rs. 50,000/- for men and Rs.1,00,000/- for ladies, this duty free exemption does not apply to gold in other forms. Gold taken to India in the form of biscuits, coins etc. are not allowed into India duty free and duty is charged at point of entry. Furthermore, any gold taken out of USA and brought back into the United States in the form of jewelry will be subject to customs duties in the United States. Even though the gold was initially taken from and brought back to the United States, duty is charged on the full value and no deduction is given by US customs. Once gold is converted to jewelry, as far as customs are concerned it becomes a new item. Here is an excerpt from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website: “if you take gold to India, where it is then made into jewelry, the gold can not be re-entered into the U.S. free of charge. Nor is the value of the gold deductable from the value of the finished jewelry” *https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/375/kw/declaring%20j ewelry/session/L3RpbWUvMTQ1NDA1NTA2OC9zaWQvNXEzRXZKSG0%3D