🇮🇳 India Customs Guide
What customs allows you to bring into India — duty-free caps, banned and restricted goods, and medication rules, from official sources.
Partially verified · Authority: Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs / Mumbai Customs Zone-III · Last verified
Some sections carry verbatim official quotes; anything still being verified is openly flagged — no invented numbers.
Two different questions. Airport security screening (TSA/CATSA — can it go through the checkpoint?) is separate from customs (may it enter the country at all?). This page covers customs after arrival in India; for checkpoint rules, see the item guides.
Duty-free allowances
General Free Allowance ₹50,000 (Indian residents & tourists of Indian origin; foreign tourists ₹15,000; from Nepal/Bhutan/Myanmar variants). Within it: alcohol/wine up to 2 L; tobacco 100 cigarettes / 25 cigars / 125 g (packs must bear the COTPA pictorial warning). Gold jewellery (passenger abroad ≥ 1 year): men 20 g capped ₹50,000, women 40 g capped ₹100,000. Excess liquor ☈ high duty (effective ~150% wines/liquor per the Zone FAQ).
“Alcoholic Liquor or Wine up to two liters as part of free baggage allowance The Cost of Alcoholic Liquor or wines is included in free allowance of 50000 /- .”
“100 Cigarette sticks or 25 Cigars or 125 grams of Tobacco are allowed as part of the free baggage provided Every pack of cigarette or any othertobacco product shall have the specified pictorial health warning …”
“Gold Jewellery, as Baggage of a passenger who stayed abroad for a minimum period of one year Indian Male Passenger Jewellery upto a weight of 20 grams with value cap of Rs.50,000/- Indian Female Passenger Jewellery upto a weight of 40 grams with value cap of Rs.1,00,000/-”
“Tobacco and its products: 100 cigarette sticks or 25 cigars or 125 grams of tobacco are allowed as part of the free baggage. Alcoholic liquor or wine up to two liters as part of free baggage allowance.”
Prohibited & restricted goods
Generic prohibition posture captured; full Annexure-I enumeration (narcotics, firearms, wildlife/Anti底ity etc.) — CBIC annexure verbatim pending. NOTE: India BANS e-cigarettes import under the 2019 prohibition act (already encoded on the site’s vape item) — CBIC/DGFT citation refresh pending here.
“prohibited goods are liable to prosecution/penalty and confiscation of goods.”
“Annexure-I (prohibited/restricted) includes: firearms; cartridges of firearms exceeding 50 numbers; cigarettes exceeding 100 sticks, cigars exceeding 25, or tobacco exceeding 125 grams; narcotics and psychotropic substances; goods violating legally enforceable intellectual property rights; specified live birds and animals; wildlife products. — Mumbai Customs Zone-III FAQ (CBIC, official)”
“There is no prohibition on import of drones. However, passengers possessing drones have to opt for Red Channel and should declare the same.”
Medication & prescription drugs
PENDING — personal-use medicines with prescription long-tolerated; Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act carriage rules need CBIC/extractor verbatim.
Still being verified — nothing guessed
Accuracy beats completeness here. The following are confirmed gaps in our verified coverage for India; each line names the official source we are re-checking, not a third-party answer:
- Pending e-cigarette 2019 prohibition act CBIC citation
- Pending Annexure II verbatim (Annexure I lines captured 2026-08-04)
- Pending traveller medication quantity rules verbatim (NDPS substances confirmed prohibited in Annexure I capture)
India customs FAQs
What is the duty-free allowance for India?
General Free Allowance ₹50,000 (Indian residents & tourists of Indian origin; foreign tourists ₹15,000; from Nepal/Bhutan/Myanmar variants).
What items are prohibited or restricted at India customs?
Generic prohibition posture captured; full Annexure-I enumeration (narcotics, firearms, wildlife/Anti底ity etc.) — CBIC annexure verbatim pending. NOTE: India BANS e-cigarettes import under the 2019 prohibition act (already encoded on the site’s vape item) — CBIC/DGFT citation refresh pending here.
Can I bring medication into India?
PENDING — personal-use medicines with prescription long-tolerated; Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act carriage rules need CBIC/extractor verbatim.
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Last verified:
Verified against official sources. Rules change — for high-stakes items, confirm with your airline and the screening authority. Our verification method →