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I'm planning to enter India with electronics in my luggage.

1) What's the duty-free limit depending on:

  • Method of travel (flight, car, train, boat)
  • Visa type (tourist, business, family)
  • Residency status (resident in India, resident elsewhere)
  • Citizenship (e.g. Indian citizen resident in America)
  • National origin (Indian, Pakistani, other)
  • Type of electronics
  • Country of purchase (e.g. an iPad bought in India)
  • Age (e.g. children traveling with me)
  • Number of people traveling with me (e.g. 5 people carrying 3 laptops)

2) How would the customs employees determine the cost of the items I'm holding? Would it help to repackage the items to make them look used?

3) Is it likely that I would be inspected by customs at the airport?

4) If I do have to pay duty, what amount can I expect to be charged?

Note that this is a broad question based on this meta-travel discussion. Replies should ideally be posted as a community wiki.

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JonathanReez
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  • http://www.cbec.gov.in/cae1-english.htm on the left, select "Guide for travellers", it has the vast majority of information asked for here and we should just point users to the site since information changes frequently – Akash Jan 24 '15 at 17:19
  • @Akash the usual policy on Stackexchange is to type out the answer as the link in question can disappear without warning. – JonathanReez Jan 24 '15 at 17:22
  • I am aware of the policy, though in this case you should consider an exception since this is currently the canonical govt answer to the question. Also, the link should be to the homepage (and not the guide directly) since the rules change annually or more, and they change in subtle ways – Akash Jan 24 '15 at 17:25
  • @Akash even if we assume that the website is 100% reliable, it's horribly designed and it would take ages to figure out answers to the questions I've posted above. – JonathanReez Jan 24 '15 at 17:27
  • @CGCampbell it's common for people to remove the original packaging to prove that their items are not for sale. – JonathanReez Jan 24 '15 at 17:32
  • @JonathanReez I would say its the most reliable source you can get given it comes straight from the customs department :) The site may be horrible, but the guide is reasonably readable, accessible using the instructions I gave previously – Akash Jan 24 '15 at 17:44
  • Let me phrase that a bit differently, it answers virtually all of 1 and 4, you need personal experiences to get an answer to 2 and 3 – Akash Jan 24 '15 at 17:47
  • @Akash it would still be better to type out the answers, rather than linking to a PDF file, no matter how easy it is to read. That's how Stackexchange normally works. – JonathanReez Jan 24 '15 at 18:39
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    Yeah.. I understand how SE usually works :) I just dont see the point of typing out a govt published guide in a different format just for it to be outdated and misleading in a year.. My only request is that whoever does perform the task, please link to the guide as well – Akash Jan 24 '15 at 19:31
  • @Akash Oh, okay, sorry for the misunderstanding – JonathanReez Jan 24 '15 at 19:37
  • @CGCampbell since this question is supposed to be a catch-all for all future "electronics to India" questions, please feel free to edit it. I'm not planning to travel to India anytime soon and if I do, I'd definitely avoid taking more than my laptop and phone :) – JonathanReez Jan 25 '15 at 19:01
  • @JonathanReez OK :) deleting previous comments and looking forward to answers. – CGCampbell Jan 25 '15 at 20:10

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