As far as luggage rules in India are concerned, each and every article coming into or going out of India come under exchange management. Also, customs duties are imposed on them at the pre-determined rates. For getting a clearance from the custom official, a declaration is required to be made to them by the owner regarding the contents in his possession. This is done on a prescribed form. On the basis of the date of the declaration, the rates of duty and tariff valuation are determined.
Indian baggage rules vary according to the duration of stay of the passenger, the country he or she is traveling from, and the passenger's age. As per the usual practice, every passenger gets a duty free allowance. Within this allowance, he/she can bring various goods without paying any duty on them. However, if the total value of the goods exceeds the duty free allowance, a flat customs duty has to be paid only on the value in excess of the duty free allowance. However, personal and household goods are treated as baggage and can be imported freely without any restriction regarding their value. Flat rate of duty is not applicable to certain items. On these articles, duty is charged at various rates based on the Customs Tariff.
There is a special case for a person residing abroad for a minimum period of two years and transferring his residence for a minimum period of one year. Such a person may avail "Concessions for Transfer of Residence". For importers and exporters, a license or Customs Clearance Permit (CCP) and Import Export Code number has to be obtained to import/export goods into or out of India.
Items that are not permitted:
- Gold or silver jewellery or any other article articles mainly consisting of gold or silver, in excess of permitted limit. The limit is Rs.20,000 for females and Rs.10,000 for males.
- Indian currency exceeding the amount of Rs.1,000.
- Any harmful drug. This includes coca leaf, cocaine, hemp, charas, opium, morphine, etc, along with their mixtures and derivatives.
- Any vulgar material. This includes obscene magazines, books, pamphlets, paper, drawing, painting, representation, figure, article or objectionable literature or any other items not appealing to the Indian sensibilities.
- Also restricted are plants, parts of plants, soil seeds, fruits, dry fruits, vegetables, flowers, coffee seeds, coffee beans, cottons and un-manufactured tobacco.
- Pet animals and birds can be brought along but their number is limited.
- Fire arms.
