Q818. Gold duty free allowance in India applicable only to gold jewelry NOT other forms of gold taken in to India

Question: Dear Sir/ Madam, I am an OCI card holder and citizen of Australia. I am planning to get my daughter (OCI card holder and citizen of Australia) married in India. For this I need to import some gold nugget for jewellery (personal use). I will appreciate some feedback on this. a) How much gold nugget I can bring to India without paying duty? b) If I import 1 oz gold nugget how much duty I need to pay? c) If I import more than 1 oz (less than 1 kg) gold nugget how much duty I need to pay? d) Can I pay the duty in advance? Many thanks for your support With best regards, Arun Datta

Answer: Duty free allowance in India for gold brought in by a passenger is allowed only on gold jewelery and NOT on gold in any other form! Duty free allowance on jewelery is up to a maximum value of Rs. 50,000 for male passengers and Rs. 100,000 for female passengers. Any passenger of Indian Origin coming to India after a stay abroad of at least six months [short visits to India during the six months may be ignored if such visits do not exceed 30 days] can bring gold provided: • The weight of gold (including ornaments) does not exceed 1 kg. per passenger. • The duty must be paid in convertible foreign currency. • The passenger can either bring the gold themselves at the time of arrival or import the same within fifteen days of their arrival in India as unaccompanied baggage. Declaration to be made on arrival. • Arriving passenger’s also have the option to obtain the permitted quantity of gold from Customs bonded warehouse of State Bank of India and Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation subject to conditions described above. They are in such circumstances required to file a declaration in the prescribed Form before the Customs Officer at the time of arrival in India stating their intention to obtain the gold from the Customs bonded warehouse and pay the applicable duty before clearance. • Customs duty on gold taken to India that is within the allowed 1 kg limit is calculated 10 % [Notification No.12/2012-Cus] Do keep in mind that the rate of duty is always subject to change by the authorities and the value of gold for the purpose of calculating customs duty is fixed through government notification’s from time to time.