Delhi HC rules flight passengers can carry personal gold: Guidelines to follow

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has ruled that gold ornaments worn or carried by passengers for personal use shouldn’t be confiscated at any Indian airport by the customs officials, without any valid reason. A bench of Justices Prathiba N Singh and Rajaneesh Kumar Gupta had remarked while considering more than 30 complaints regarding the interrogation conducted by the customs officials about the gold ornaments worn by passengers arriving from the Gulf.

Many passengers, especially non-resident Indians settled in foreign countries, are often subjected to rigorous interrogation by the customs officials at the airport about the gold ornaments worn by them or any gold acquired as ancestral property. Millions of expatriates travel to various Indian airports, especially from the UAE and other Gulf countries, carrying gold jewellery for personal use during the wedding season.

The court ordered that officials shouldn’t question the passengers or confiscate the gold ornaments without any valid reason. The bench recommended conducting workshops at all airports for employees to prevent instances of passenger harassment.

Good news for expatriates
The latest instruction of the bench is good news for expatriates who arrive from various countries. Many expatriates carry gold ornaments from these countries, especially the Middle East, for wedding purposes.
Passengers complain that the customs officials at the airports ask for receipts even for the ornaments they have received as family heirlooms. A woman who arrived from Dubai told Manorama Online that she was subjected to severe harassment as if she were a gold smuggler at the Lucknow airport for wearing a bangle that she received as a gift from her grandmother.

What are the guidelines?
As per the Baggage Rules of 2016, expatriates arriving in India after a gap of one year can bring a certain quantity of gold without any tax. Women can bring up to 40 grams (8 sovereigns) of gold tax-free, while men can carry up to 2.5 grams of gold tax-free. However, the passengers may have to pay taxes if the amount of gold exceeds this limit.

Meanwhile, it isn’t clear whether this rule applies to ornaments received as ancestral property. The Delhi High Court has instructed the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to either amend this rule or issue a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) by May 19, considering the rising gold prices.

The bench also instructed that the SOP should clarify how to quantify old gold ornaments, simplify the procedure for releasing the confiscated gold ornaments, and protect the passengers from the confiscation of gold ornaments brought for personal use. The court has asked the officials to handle such cases with maturity and refrain from confiscating old gold ornaments that are being used by the passengers.