There may be relief ahead for UAE residents traveling to India with personal jewelry.
India’s Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced that a “complete overhaul of the customs area is on the cards,” calling it her next major reform.
At the recent HT Leadership Summit, she stressed the need for simpler, more transparent procedures, saying, “We need to make them a lot more simplified for people to feel that it is not too tiresome, cumbersome for them to comply with the expectations and rules.”
Her remarks come as NRIs, especially those in the UAE, increasingly urge India to update its duty-free gold jewelry limits, which many say no longer reflect economic reality.
With gold prices near Rs13,000 per gram in India and Dh508 per gram in Dubai, long-term expatriates argue that the allowances set in 2016 are now obsolete.
Current rules contradict India’s goals of boosting tourism and destination weddings, both of which involve significant use of traditional jewelry.
The current rules permit 20 grams of jewelry worth Rs50,000 for men and 40 grams worth RS1 lakh for women, values that now cover only a small portion of the intended weight.
When making charges are included, travelers say the real duty-free quantity drops by almost 70 percent, leaving even modest personal jewelry at risk of scrutiny.
UAE-based NRI groups have formally requested clearer, more realistic guidelines, citing rising complaints of unnecessary interrogations and stressful airport checks.
For Spring resident Khusbhoo Jain, traveling home now means anxiety. She recalled a recent incident at Mumbai airport.
“Whenever I pass through an Indian airport, I almost always get questioned by customs. Because of repeated experiences like this, I now keep photos and receipts of all my jewelry saved on my phone — just in case.
On a recent trip to Mumbai, I was wearing a simple gold-and-diamond bracelet on one wrist and a diamond bangle on the other. I had already passed through customs when a female officer noticed my bangles as I pushed my baby’s stroller. She stopped me, examined my jewelry, and immediately began questioning me.”
She said the officer asked her to prove the pieces were hers, demanding old photos showing her wearing them.
Jain said the line of questioning became surprisingly personal — “Why wasn’t she wearing the matching bangle?” — before she was eventually allowed to leave.
Another experience left her more shaken.
“I had kept most of my jewelry in my handbag, and when it went through the scanner, customs officers pulled me aside. I didn’t want to open my purse in front of everyone because I was carrying valuable pieces, so I insisted on a private room. Inside, they weighed each item individually and checked everything against my purchase receipts. Over the years, I’ve had several such encounters, and each has left me more cautious and wary whenever I travel through Indian airports.”
Jumeirah resident Manasi Bajaj described a similar encounter. “In July, I was flying from Dubai to Chandigarh to attend a big Punjabi wedding. I had packed some costume jewelry that looked like gold and had a good finish. My bag was pulled aside. What followed was 45 minutes of questioning over just a piece of costume jewelry.
“This was not my first run-in with airport checks. A few years ago, at Nagpur airport, my handbag went through a scanner, and officials insisted I was carrying gold coins, but they were actually UAE dirhams.”
She added that smaller airports can be stricter, sharing the example of a friend held for 1.5 hours for wearing an old gold chain without a receipt.
As India’s wedding season kicks off, many UAE expats are traveling home to attend family celebrations, but growing concerns over customs checks are making them think twice about carrying real gold.
For many NRIs, jewelry is deeply tied to culture, tradition, and family festivities, yet the anxiety of airport scrutiny is dampening the excitement. Dubai resident Shreya Rai said the stress of traveling with gold now often overshadows the joy of family occasions.
“I am heading to Delhi for my cousin’s wedding, but after hearing so many horror stories, I am hesitant to carry my gold set. Dubai is famous for its gold and stunning designs, but the thought of traveling with it fills me with anxiety.
“When you are flying solo with young children, the last thing you want is to be held up at the airport for hours, enduring endless questions from Customs officers.
