Flying back to India? Learn about gold allowance and restrictions

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Indians are obsessed with gold as India is the world’s second-biggest gold consumer after China. Especially when abroad, gold is the first thing that catches the eye of the Indian traveler. The Indian woman has a special place for gold in her heart. But one specific reason that stands out for such hunger of gold and ornaments when outside India is the availability of gold at lower prices and higher quality of the gold simultaneously.

Most of Indians bring gold from abroad on their Canada to India flights to home to convert it to currency later. But in the last few years, it has become difficult to carry gold to India owing to restraining circumstances and high custom duty.

Currently in India, the price of 24-carat gold is 55,510 rs while for 22-carat gold, the price is 50,110 rs. And with the recent surge of prices in the yellow metal, it pays to know how much gold you are allowed to carry if you are flying back to India on your flight tickets to India in the coming days.

Is it legal to carry gold to India?

Yes, it is perfectly legal to carry gold to India but there are caveats involved. So many permutations and combinations are at work so it’s difficult to come up with a precise answer to the question. Generally, it is in the affirmative. Though gold is totally portable, gems and jewelry has increased by 50 percent in exports in 2021-2022 to USD 39 billion in India meaning you might need to pay more for imports. You also should be aware of the restrictions on the quantity of gold that you can bring to India with you. The custom duty to be paid and the quantity of gold you are allowed to bring depends on the factors such as residency status and duration of stay abroad.

Can gold be brought to India without paying customs?

The short answer is yes but again a lot of caveats are involved. If you are the one who has lived abroad for over a year then you can bring gold to India without attracting any customs duties. But there are rules that Barr the unlimited quantity of gold to be carried. Only a minuscule amount is allowed. The government has to tackle the problem of commercial quantities being shipped for trade purposes while there should be no restraint on personal quantities of gold, therefore government came up with a formula that draws a compromise.

The formula is like this-

If you are a male passenger flying to India on your Canada to India flights then you can carry a maximum gold of up to 20 grams subject to a ceiling of Rs 50000. Meaning you can’t bring more gold than the worth of 50000 in Indian rupees.

If you are a female flying to India then the limit is 40 grams subject to a ceiling of one lakh rupees. The amount of gold that can be shipped is doubled for women as compared to men. overall, a couple who is flying to India after a year of residence in a foreign country can together bring 60 grams worth of gold subject to a ceiling of 1.5 lakh rupees.

If a male or female has stayed in a foreign country for less than a year then the above-mentioned relaxation doesn’t hold and he/she is liable to pay the customs duty.

What is allowed and what isn’t?

The duty-free allowance holds true for children as well provided they have stayed abroad for over a year.

However, there are restrictions on bringing gold coins, gold biscuits, and gold bars as these items have ulterior commercial motives. Above mentioned exemptions also don’t hold for coins, biscuits, and bars. The allowance limit remains available for gold jewelry. The above-mentioned limits of 20 and 40 grams hold only if the passengers are carrying gold in the jewelry form.

Final say

Though it looks attractive to carry gold with you on your last minute flights from abroad to India for the cheaper prices it has got but if you think more subtly and deeply then it is an exercise in futile as the deeper interplay of the overall things will reflect to you the futility of carrying gold with you from abroad on your Canada to India flights.

Since only gold in jewelry form is allowed, the making charges hold the key and it makes all the difference. It renders the attractive-looking exercise of carrying gold futile. The making charges in India are around 7 percent of the overall cost of the gold while they are as high as 25-30 percent in foreign nations such as Dubai, USA, Canada, and European countries. That nullifies all the gains made because of cheaper prices of gold in foreign nations. For example, 10 grams of gold is cheaper by around 5000 thousand rupees in Arabian nations when compared to India but the jewelry making charges are as high as 25 percent which raises the overall costs of the package. The final price for a 10 grams article comes the same whether you carry it from a foreign store or buy it from a jeweler’s store near you.

So that was all about the gold allowance, restrictions, and procedures put in place to carry the precious yellow metal to India from other countries.