Customs Duty on Gold from Dubai to India: How It Is Calculated

Customs duty on gold from Dubai is charged only on the grams that are not covered by your duty-free allowance, and on all bars and coins. If you qualify as an eligible passenger, the rate is 15% (10% basic customs duty plus 5% AIDC), worked out on the value Indian Customs assigns to the gold, not on your Dubai bill, and paid in foreign currency.

The calculation itself is short. Getting each input right is where people go wrong, so this page builds the sum one piece at a time.

The formula in one line

Duty = (dutiable grams) × (value per gram set by Customs) × (duty rate)

Three inputs. Let's take them in order.

First, which grams are dutiable?

Start with everything you are carrying and subtract what is free.

• Personal jewellery, abroad more than one year: the first 40 g (women) or 20 g (men and other passengers) is free. Only the excess is dutiable.
• Jewellery bought on a stay of one year or less: new pieces are dutiable from the first gram. Only used personal jewellery you wore for the trip is left out.
• Bars, coins, biscuits: fully dutiable. There is no free allowance for them at all.

One subtlety. The allowance is not a discount you can spread across forms. A woman carrying 30 g of jewellery and a 10 g coin does not get "40 g free". The jewellery is free, the coin is taxed.

Next, what value does Customs use?

Customs does not multiply by the price on your invoice. It uses its own assessed figure, known as the tariff value, which the government notifies and revises from time to time. Your bill's gold rate, making charge and UAE VAT do not set the duty.

That is why two travellers who paid very different amounts for the same weight can pay similar duty. It also means a big making charge on a Kundan set doesn't directly inflate your duty in the way people fear. We explain the mechanics, and why the number can sit above or below your bill, in how Customs values your gold.

For a rough feel of the market level that tariff values track, these cards show today's Dubai rate for each karat in rupees and dirhams.

Then, which rate applies?

The 15% rate dates from the May 2026 duty hike. Before that it was 6%, which is why older blog posts and forum threads quote much smaller duty bills. Ignore them.

For the short-trip case, check the current normal rate with Customs before you shop. It is not the concession, and it can make a holiday purchase far less attractive. The eligibility conditions for the 15% rate, including how the six months is counted, are covered in our step-by-step on the 1 kg scheme.

Four worked examples

All values below are illustrative round numbers chosen to show the method. They are not today's tariff value. We use ₹10,000 a gram for 22K jewellery and ₹11,000 a gram for 24K bars throughout, just to keep the maths readable.

A. Within the allowance

Fatima has lived in Ras Al Khaimah for three years. She brings 34 g of 22K jewellery. Her allowance is 40 g. Dutiable grams: zero. Duty: nil.

B. Jewellery over the allowance

Arjun has worked in Dubai for 18 months and carries a 32 g chain. Allowance 20 g, so 12 g is dutiable.

• 12 g × ₹10,000 = ₹1,20,000
• 15% of ₹1,20,000 = ₹18,000, paid in foreign currency

C. A gold bar for a long-stay worker

Mohammed has been in Doha and Dubai for two years and brings a 100 g bar (about 8.6 tolas, since a tola is 11.6638 g).

• All 100 g is dutiable; bars get no allowance.
• 100 g × ₹11,000 = ₹11,00,000
• 15% = ₹1,65,000, in dirhams or dollars

That is a lot of foreign currency to carry. If you're paying in notes, remember that foreign currency notes above US$5,000, or total foreign exchange above US$10,000, must be declared on arrival.

D. A mixed bag

Neha (abroad 2 years) and her husband Vikram (also 2 years) fly to Pune together. She has 50 g of jewellery, he has 15 g of jewellery and a 20 g coin.

Note that Vikram's 5 g of unused jewellery allowance does nothing for Neha's excess or for his own coin. Allowances are personal and form-specific.

Is it still worth it after duty?

Since India's import duty rose from 6% to 15%, the price gap between Dubai and India has widened, because Indian retail prices carry that duty already. Paying 15% at the airport largely cancels that gap, so any saving has to come from elsewhere: lower making charges in Dubai, a possible VAT refund for tourists, and design choice.

A simple test before buying anything over your allowance:

1. Price the piece in Dubai: gold + making + 5% VAT (minus any VAT refund you are eligible for).
2. Add the estimated duty on the excess grams.
3. Compare with the same weight and karat at an Indian jeweller, including 3% GST on gold and 5% GST on separately billed making.

Do this with the day's numbers rather than relying on a fixed "X% cheaper" claim. Our guide on whether gold is really cheaper in Dubai shows the side-by-side method, and the calculator below handles step 1.

Paying the duty at the airport

Declare at the red channel or on the Customs e-declaration. The officer weighs the gold, checks your passport for the length of stay, applies the tariff value and issues a receipt. Eligible passengers pay in convertible foreign currency, so arrive with enough dirhams or dollars; do not count on changing money after the counter.

Keep the duty receipt with your invoice. Together they show the gold came in legally, which matters when you later sell, pledge it for a loan or face questions on its source.

Duty rates and tariff values change by notification. The figures here were correct at the time of writing; check the latest with CBIC or Indian Customs before you fly.

Quick recap before you buy

• List every item by weight and form: jewellery, bars, coins.
• Subtract your personal jewellery allowance, if you have been abroad more than a year.
• Multiply dutiable grams by an estimated value per gram, then by 15% if you are an eligible passenger.
• Carry that amount in foreign currency, and declare cash above the thresholds.
• Recheck the full set of limits on our Dubai to India gold limits page and today's rate on the gold price calculator.