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UAE expats can carry more gold to India without paying duty

02 June 2016

Expatriates in the UAE and elsewhere, will be able to carry more gold to India, henceforth, without paying customs duty or without any other hassles, as the government’s new customs clearance framework has been implemented.

India's Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is working on a new set of guidelines to ensure hassle-free customs clearances for travel into and out of India, in case the jewellery is for personal use.

At present, Indian expats from the UAE, or any other country, have to go through an elaborate process if they wish to carry gold with them, even if they are returning after a long period.

Male Indian expats residing in the UAE or elsewhere for more than a year are allowed to import about 18gm worth of duty-free gold jewellery at the current gold prices, while ladies are allowed double the allowance.

dubai gold duty

Currently, the gold allowance has been revised in 2015, and men are allowed to carry gold worth Rs.50,000 (Dh.2725), while women are allowed double this allowance (Dh.5.450).

Moreover, till last year, due to the strict baggage allowance regulations, male passengers could not carry gold jewellery worth more than Rs.10,000 (Dh.545) and Rs.20,000 (Dh.1090) for women.

The Indian business daily, Economic Times, quotes a senior finance ministry official as saying that the norms are still being studied, like for instance, some people get jewellery for weddings and take it back as well.

India has already imposed a 10 percent duty on import of gold to reduce the gold inflow into the country, to save the precious foreign exchange, which the Asian economy will have to pay for other major imports like oil.

But, this puts the returning expats in a fix, as majority of them carry gold to India with an intention of bringing it back. At present, customs officials use their discretion to allow some expats to carry gold back, while it may lead to confusion and alleged harassment if the officials at the time of their return journey are not so accommodating.

Further, some expats have mentioned that they had to deposit their gold jewellery at the customs office lockers after recording it in their passports, and had to collect it on their way back out of India.

Meanwhile, tourists from India have to fill up an ‘export’ certificate from customs if they wish to carry gold and other valuable items back from India to another destination if they wish to bring it back after their vacation.

Failure to do so may result in them having to pay the 10 percent duty on their pre-owned jewellery, or, confiscation of the said jewellery if the weight exceeds the prescribed limits.

Robin Vinod

Writer/blogger who writes on topics such as travel, real estate, employment and everyday life on GCC countries

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