Returning to India after years abroad: what an NRI can bring home duty-free in 2026
Under India's Baggage Rules, 2026, a returning NRI has four separate duty-free entitlements:
- used personal effects, with no value limit
- a ₹75,000 general allowance
- one new laptop, if you're 18 or over
- jewellery up to 40 grams (women) or 20 grams (everyone else), if you've lived abroad for more than a year
If you're moving back for good, transfer of residence adds a further slab: ₹1.5 lakh after 3 to 12 months abroad, ₹3 lakh after 1 to 2 years, or ₹7.5 lakh after 2 years or more, subject to conditions. Anything above your limits pays duty on the excess.
This guide is our interpretation of India's published customs rules, for general information. It isn't legal or customs advice, and Smuggl isn't liable for loss from relying on it. Customs decides what applies when you land, and every traveller is responsible for declaring what they carry.
India replaced its 2016 baggage rules with new ones on 2 February 2026. The new rules raised the general allowance to ₹75,000, merged the transfer-of-residence concessions into one list with value slabs, and swapped the value caps on jewellery for weight limits. For an NRI, the first thing to settle is whether you're coming home to stay or visiting.
Which category are you in?
The rules don't use the term NRI. They sort passengers into groups, and your group sets your allowance:
- Resident: ordinarily resident in India and holding a valid Indian passport.
- Tourist of Indian origin: not ordinarily resident in India and in the country for no more than six months in a twelve-month period. A visiting NRI usually falls here.
- Foreigner with a valid visa, other than a tourist visa: in India for more than six months. This group has its own transfer-of-residence table.
- Tourist of foreign origin: a general allowance of ₹25,000.
CBIC's circular says the rules apply to residents, tourists, NRIs, OCI cardholders and foreigners with valid visas. Customs decides your category at the counter, so carry your passport and your OCI card, if you have one.
What can a returning NRI bring duty-free?
| Entitlement | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Used personal effects and travel souvenirs | No value limit in the rules | Must be used, for daily necessities of life, and carried on you or in genuine baggage. See our guide to used personal effects. |
| General free allowance | ₹75,000 per person | For arrivals by air or sea. It can't be pooled with another passenger's allowance. |
| One new laptop | One, for passengers aged 18 and over | The rule text says "including notepad". It sits separately from the ₹75,000. |
| Jewellery | 40 grams (women) or 20 grams (others) | After living abroad for more than a year. By weight only, with no value cap. |
If you arrive by land border, only used personal effects clear free of duty. The ₹75,000 allowance doesn't apply.
What is transfer of residence, and how much does it allow?
If you're transferring your residence to India, the rules let you clear a further slab of personal and household articles free of duty, in addition to the ₹75,000. The size of the slab depends on how long you were abroad.
| Time abroad | Duty-free limit | What you must meet |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 12 months | ₹1,50,000 | No further conditions listed. |
| 1 to 2 years (at least a year abroad in the preceding two) | ₹3,00,000 | You haven't used this concession in the previous three years. |
| 2 years or more | ₹7,50,000 | At least two years abroad immediately before you arrive. No more than six months in total on short visits to India during those two years. You haven't used the concession in the previous three years. |
The limit is a total value across everything you claim. For the larger household items, you can claim one unit of each.
If you're a little short
- A shortfall of up to two months in the two-year stay can be condoned if you came back early for terminal leave, a vacation or other special circumstances. A Deputy or Assistant Commissioner of Customs decides, and records the reasons.
- More than six months of short visits to India during those two years can be condoned in special circumstances by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs.
- The three-year condition has no relaxation.
What counts as household articles
The rules allow personal and household articles of any ordinary kind, such as clothes, books, crockery and cookware, up to the slab. Thirty larger items are named in Annexure II, and you can claim one unit of each:
- Home theatre system
- Air conditioner
- Microwave oven
- Washing machine
- Gas cooking range
- Desktop computer
- Laptop or notepad
- Refrigerator
- Television
- Dishwasher
- Deep freezer
- Video camera, alone or combined with a television, sound recorder or video player
- Vacuum cleaner
- Air fryer
- Dryer machine
- Air cooler
- PlayStation or other gaming console
- Water dispenser
- Oil heater
- Electric oven
- Musical instrument (piano, guitar and so on)
- Tablet (such as an iPad)
- Small Bluetooth speakers
- Air purifier
- Dehumidifier
- Multifunction printer
- Robotic vacuum cleaner
- Massage chair
- Projector
- Amplifier
What stays outside
Annexure I of the rules keeps a short list out of the free allowances, including firearms, gold or silver in any form other than ornaments, and televisions. Televisions also appear on the household list above, so ask Customs before you ship one. Cars and other vehicles aren't baggage. They follow separate import rules.
Can your household goods follow you separately?
Goods that travel separately from you are unaccompanied baggage. Customs can clear them under the same concessions if you owned them abroad and they're dispatched within one month of your arrival in India. They can also land up to two months before you arrive. If something outside your control delays your travel, such as illness or disrupted flights, Customs can allow up to a year, and has to record its reasons.
- You declare unaccompanied baggage in the electronic form CBD-II on ICEGATE. A person you authorise can file it for you if you're not there.
- Everything that applies to your accompanied baggage applies to your shipment, except the ₹75,000 general allowance.
- Customs has to be satisfied that the goods are genuinely yours.
How do you declare at the airport?
If you carry anything dutiable, you declare it electronically before you walk through the green channel. You can do it on arrival or up to three days ahead, through CBIC's Atithi web and mobile application. Customs checks declarations on a risk basis and can ask you to report to the red channel.
In practice, expect to be asked for proof of your time abroad and an itemised list of what you're claiming. Keep your passport stamps and visas, residence permits, employer or lease letters, and receipts together. CBIC also publishes a guide for international travellers that's worth reading before you fly.
What do you pay above your limits?
Goods above your limits pay customs duty on the excess value. At the time of writing, the baggage rate is about 38.5%: 35% basic customs duty plus a 10% surcharge on that duty. Customs decides the value it applies to, and rates can change.
An example. Ravi has lived abroad for four years and is moving home. He ships used household goods worth ₹6.2 lakh, which sits inside the ₹7.5 lakh slab, so they clear free of duty. In his hand luggage he carries one new laptop, which is free, and ₹80,000 of new gifts. The general allowance covers the first ₹75,000 of the gifts, leaving ₹5,000 dutiable: about ₹1,900 at 38.5%. These are illustration numbers, and Customs sets the real values.
Visiting, not moving?
Transfer of residence is for passengers who transfer their residence to India. If you're visiting for a holiday or a family event, you get your used personal effects, the ₹75,000 allowance, a new laptop if you're bringing one, and the jewellery allowance if you've lived abroad for more than a year.
Frequently asked questions
What is the duty-free allowance for NRIs in India in 2026?
A visiting NRI is usually treated as a tourist of Indian origin and gets a ₹75,000 general allowance on arrival by air or sea, plus used personal effects, one new laptop if aged 18 or over, and a jewellery allowance after more than a year abroad. Foreign tourists of non-Indian origin get ₹25,000.
How much can I bring under transfer of residence?
Up to ₹1.5 lakh after 3 to 12 months abroad, ₹3 lakh after 1 to 2 years, or ₹7.5 lakh after 2 years or more, in personal and household articles, on top of the ₹75,000 general allowance. The higher slabs come with conditions.
How long must I have lived abroad to claim the ₹7.5 lakh slab?
At least two years immediately before you arrive. Your short visits to India in those two years can total no more than six months, and you mustn't have used the concession in the previous three years. Customs can condone a shortfall of up to two months in the stay, or longer short visits, in special circumstances.
Can I use transfer of residence more than once?
Not within three years, for the ₹3 lakh and ₹7.5 lakh slabs. The rules allow no relaxation of that condition.
How much gold jewellery can an NRI bring to India?
Returning residents and tourists of Indian origin who have lived abroad for more than a year can bring up to 40 grams of jewellery if female, or 20 grams otherwise, free of duty in their genuine baggage. The limit is by weight only. Gold or silver in any form other than ornaments is outside the free allowances.
Is the laptop allowance separate from the ₹75,000?
Yes. Passengers aged 18 or over can bring one new laptop (the rule text says "including notepad") free of duty in their genuine baggage.
What if my household goods reach India before I do?
Customs can clear unaccompanied baggage that lands up to two months before you arrive, or that is dispatched within one month after. For unavoidable delays it can allow up to a year, with its reasons recorded. Declare it on Form CBD-II.
Does transfer of residence apply if I'm only visiting?
No. It's for passengers who transfer their residence to India. A visit falls under the general allowance and your used personal effects.
Sources
Checked on November 13, 2026. Rules and rates can change.
- Press Information Bureau: Government notifies Baggage Rules, 2026, 2 February 2026
- CBIC: Notification No. 14/2026-Customs (N.T.), the Baggage Rules, 2026 (the allowances, the Appendix I slabs and Rule 10 on unaccompanied baggage)
- CBIC: Circular No. 04/2026-Customs, guidelines for uniform implementation of the Baggage Rules, 2026 (declarations, Atithi, unaccompanied baggage)
- CBIC: Guide for international travellers
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