Carrying Gold Bars or Coins from Dubai to India: Rules and Duty

You can bring a gold bar or coin from Dubai to India, but it is never duty-free. Bars, coins and biscuits fall outside the jewellery allowance completely, so every gram must be declared. If you hold an Indian passport or are of Indian origin and have been abroad for at least six months, you can bring up to 1 kg in any form at a concessional duty of 15%, paid in foreign currency.

Anyone who doesn't meet that test can still import a bar, but pays duty at the normal baggage rate rather than the concession. Either way, the green channel is not an option.

Why bars are treated differently from jewellery

The 40 g and 20 g duty-free allowance exists for bona fide personal jewellery: things people wear. A bar is a store of value. Customs treats it as an import of gold, not as personal effects. That is why a 1 g coin, which weighs less than an earring, is dutiable while the earring may not be.

So the question with bars is never "is it free?" It is "which rate do I pay, and have I prepared for it?"

Which route are you on?

Work through these questions in order.

1. Do you hold an Indian passport, or are you of Indian origin? If no, the eligible passenger concession is not available. Declare the bar and pay the normal rate.
2. Have you been abroad for at least six months? Short visits to India of up to 30 days in that period may be ignored. If no, you pay the normal rate.
3. Is your total gold under this scheme 1 kg or less? If yes, you can use the 15% route. Above 1 kg, the concession does not cover the extra.
4. Do you have convertible foreign currency to pay the duty? The concession requires it. Without it, you lose the concession on the spot.

If you answered yes four times, you are an eligible passenger for bar purposes. The full airport process for that scheme is set out in our step-by-step guide to the 1 kg scheme.

Common bar sizes and what they weigh

Dubai sells bars in grams, tolas and ounces. A tola is 11.6638 grams, not the 10 g many Indian buyers use loosely. That gap matters when you work out duty.

The 10 tola bar is the Gulf favourite, and for good reason: low premium per gram and easy resale in India. Our page on the 10 tola gold bar covers its pros and cons. Here are today's tola prices in Dubai, in rupees and dirhams.

Worked example: two 10 tola bars

Imran (an illustrative traveller) has worked in Abu Dhabi for three years. He buys two 10 tola bars, total 233.28 g of 24K, and flies to Hyderabad.

• Allowance used: none. Bars get nothing free, even though Imran has a 20 g jewellery allowance.
• Dutiable weight: 233.28 g.
• Value: Customs applies its tariff value, not his bill. Say it is ₹11,000 a gram for this example (not a real rate). 233.28 × ₹11,000 = ₹25,66,080.
• Duty at 15%: ₹3,84,912, payable in foreign currency.

He needs well over US$4,000 worth of dirhams or dollars just for the duty. If he carries foreign currency notes above US$5,000, or total foreign exchange above US$10,000, he must declare that too.

His Dubai purchase also crosses a UAE threshold. Dealers in precious metals must identify customers and report cash transactions of AED 55,000 or more, so expect to show a passport or Emirates ID if paying cash.

Does the bar still make sense after 15%?

Since the May 2026 hike, India's import duty on gold is 15%, up from 6%. Indian bar prices already include that duty. When you pay 15% at the airport, you have roughly matched the Indian duty cost. Where's the saving, then?

• Premium. Dubai bar premiums over the international price are small. Compare carefully.
• VAT. Retail buyers in the UAE should check how VAT appears on a bar invoice; investment gold of 99% purity or more can be zero-rated in B2B trade, but your bill is what counts.
• Indian GST. A bar bought in India carries 3% GST on the gold value.
• Exchange rate. Your rupee cost depends on the AED to INR rate on the day.

The gap is narrower than it was in the 6% era, so don't buy on habit. Compare the full landed cost against an Indian bank or jeweller's bar price on the same day. Our guide to buying gold bars in Dubai explains brands, premiums and where to buy.

The card below shows today's 24K price per gram in Dubai.

Paperwork for a bar

Bars invite closer checks than a necklace. Carry:

• The original tax invoice showing weight, purity (999 or 9999), bar serial number if stamped, and price.
• Proof of payment: card slip or bank transfer record. A cash receipt is fine, but expect ID questions for large amounts.
• Your passport with entry and exit stamps, or other proof you have been abroad six months or more.
• Foreign currency for the duty.

Keep the bar in its sealed assay card or packaging. An opened card does not make it illegal, but a sealed one with a matching serial number speeds things up. The full list is in our guide to documents for carrying gold.

What not to do

• Don't melt or reshape a bar into crude "jewellery" to use the allowance. Officers recognise it, and it can be treated as concealment.
• Don't split bars between family members to stay under a limit you don't qualify for. Each passenger must meet the conditions personally.
• Don't courier a bar home. Posting gold is not a duty-free route, and it is commonly refused or taxed in full.
• Don't walk through green. Undeclared bars can be confiscated, with a penalty and, in serious cases, prosecution.

These rules are as they stood at the time of writing. Check the latest CBIC notification, including the current rate for non-eligible passengers, before you buy.

Bar buyer's checklist

• Confirm you are an eligible passenger: Indian passport or origin, six months or more abroad.
• Keep the total under 1 kg.
• Estimate duty at 15% of an assumed value, and carry that in foreign currency.
• Collect the invoice and payment proof; keep packaging sealed.
• Use the red channel or e-declaration on arrival.
• For jewellery limits alongside bars, see all the Dubai to India gold limits, and check bar pricing on the Dubai gold price per tola page.