An eligible woman passenger can bring up to 40 grams of gold jewellery into India duty-free, and any other eligible passenger up to 20 grams, under the Baggage Rules 2026. The big change: the old rupee value caps are abolished, so only weight now decides your duty-free jewellery, provided you have stayed abroad for more than one year.
Short on time? Jump to the eligibility table to check your exact limit, then read the conditions below.
The weight figures only apply if you qualify. Use this table to find your duty-free jewellery limit.
| Passenger type | Duty-free gold jewellery | Key condition |
|---|---|---|
| Woman, Indian resident or of Indian origin | Up to 40 grams | Stayed abroad more than 1 year; not arriving by land |
| Any other passenger (man or otherwise) | Up to 20 grams | Stayed abroad more than 1 year; not arriving by land |
| Passenger abroad less than 1 year | No special jewellery allowance | Falls under the general free allowance only |
| Tourist of foreign origin | No special jewellery allowance | General allowance ₹25,000 only |
Note: “Eligible” means a resident of India, or a tourist of Indian origin, who has lived abroad for more than one year and is not arriving across a land border. If you do not meet both conditions, the special jewellery allowance does not apply to you.
The headline weights (40g and 20g) are not new. They existed under the Baggage Rules 2016. What changed in 2026 is that the rupee value caps that sat on top of those weights have been removed.
| Feature | Baggage Rules 2016 (old) | Baggage Rules 2026 (new) |
|---|---|---|
| Woman passenger | 40 grams and value up to ₹1,00,000 | 40 grams, no value cap |
| Man / other passenger | 20 grams and value up to ₹50,000 | 20 grams, no value cap |
| What limits you | Whichever you hit first: weight or value | Weight only |
| General free allowance (resident) | ₹50,000 | ₹75,000 |
| Stay-abroad condition | More than 1 year | More than 1 year (unchanged) |
Value caps abolished. Under the old rules a woman carrying 40 grams worth more than ₹1,00,000 would breach the value cap even if she was within the weight limit. From 2 February 2026 that rupee ceiling is gone. As long as you stay within 40 grams (woman) or 20 grams (other), the value of the jewellery does not push you over the duty-free line.
This matters because gold prices have risen sharply. Under the 2016 caps, 40 grams of gold was usually worth far more than ₹1,00,000, so many returning travellers technically exceeded the value limit while being within weight. The 2026 rules fix that mismatch.
The Baggage Rules 2026 were notified by Notification No. 14/2026-Customs (N.T.) dated 1 February 2026 and took effect on 2 February 2026, replacing the Baggage Rules 2016. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued them alongside the Customs Baggage (Declaration and Processing) Regulations, 2026.
The old 2016 proviso read that a passenger residing abroad for more than one year could clear free of duty jewellery “upto a weight of twenty grams with a value cap of fifty thousand rupees if brought by a gentleman passenger, or forty grams with a value cap of one lakh rupees if brought by a lady passenger.” The 2026 rules keep the weights and drop the value caps.
The duty-free jewellery allowance is not automatic. Confirm all of these before you rely on it.
Gold jewellery beyond your duty-free weight is dutiable. You cannot simply walk it through.
The exact duty rate on excess jewellery depends on the form of the gold and your eligibility, and can differ from the rate on imported gold bars. For the bullion and gold-import duty slabs, see our guide on bringing gold to India and the customs duty slabs.
Kashvi Pathak, an NRI working in Dubai for three years, flies into Kochi wearing two gold bangles and a chain totalling 38 grams. Because she is a woman of Indian origin who has lived abroad more than one year and is arriving by air, she is within the 40-gram limit. Under the old rules the ₹1,00,000 value cap might have caught her, since 38 grams of gold is worth far more today. Under the 2026 rules, weight is all that counts, so her jewellery clears duty-free through the Green Channel.
For a deeper walk-through of citizen rights and government processes, see The RTI Playbook.
Up to 40 grams, if she is a resident of India or a tourist of Indian origin who has stayed abroad for more than one year and is not arriving by land. There is no longer any rupee value cap on that 40 grams. Jewellery beyond 40 grams is dutiable and must be declared at the Red Channel.
No. The ₹1,00,000 cap for women and the ₹50,000 cap for men existed under the Baggage Rules 2016. The Baggage Rules 2026, effective 2 February 2026, removed these value caps. Only the weight limits of 40 grams (woman) and 20 grams (other) now apply.
You do not get the special jewellery allowance. You fall back on the general free allowance of ₹75,000 for residents and Indian-origin travellers (₹25,000 for tourists of foreign origin). Gold jewellery you carry counts against that general value, and the over-one-year jewellery weight allowance is not available to you.
If your gold jewellery is within your duty-free weight limit, you may use the Green Channel. If you carry more than the limit, or any dutiable or restricted goods, you must use the Red Channel and declare it, electronically where required. Carrying excess gold through the Green Channel can lead to seizure and penalty.
No. The 40g / 20g allowance is for jewellery and ornaments only. Gold in any other form, such as bars, biscuits and coins, is treated as bullion and is governed by separate rules, including Notification No. 45/2025-Customs, which allows eligible passengers to import gold subject to a six-month minimum stay abroad and a one-kilogram ceiling.