Foreign Nationals Coming To India Not Required To Declare Personal Gold Jewellery To Customs: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that foreign nationals coming to India need not declare to the Customs Department their gold jewellery which they are carrying for bonafide personal use.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Dharmesh Sharma further held that the Customs Department must make a distinction between 'jewellery' and 'personal jewellery', while seizing items for violation of the Baggage Rules, 2016 which are framed under the Customs Act, 1962.Thus in the facts and circumstances of the case, it observed, “Admittedly, the Petitioner is a foreign national coming from Thailand. She visits India once or twice a year to see her parents and family. The three gold bangles that she may have worn would be a part of her personal effects and there was no requirement for her to declare the same.”Petitioner's gold bangles, which she was wearing on her arrival to India on 13th March, 2024, were seized by the Customs Department.The Department contended that whenever any foreign tourist carries jewellery, the same ought to be declared.The petitioner on the other hand relied on Nathan Narayansamy v. Commissioner of Customs (2024) to submit that gold being part of the personal effects of the tourist of foreign origin could not have been seized by the Customs Department.The Department countered that jewellery is excluded from the ambit of 'personal effects', which are otherwise exempt from duty under Baggage Rules.At the outset, the High Court observed that Baggage Rules have to be interpreted in a manner that does not lead to unnecessary burden upon the tourist, being either of Indian or foreign origin. It relied on Directorate of Revenue Intelligence & Ors. v. Pushpa Lekhumal Tolani (2017) where the Supreme Court had considered whether jewellery being carried by a tourist as part of her baggage would qualify as smuggling under the Customs Act or the Baggage Rules. It had held that it is not permissible to completely exclude jewellery from the ambit of 'personal effects'. Similarly, in Saba Simran v. Union of India (2024) the Delhi High Court held that the expression “personal effects” would include all items which are carried by an incoming passenger for satisfying daily necessities, and could include jewellery and ornaments which are personal items.Accordingly, the Court concluded, the term “personal effects” cannot exclude personal jewellery or ornaments.Before parting, the Court also noticed that the detention receipt of the gold bangles was issued to the Petitioner almost a year ago and yet, no show cause notice was issued till date. In this light, the Court has directed the Central Board of Indirect Taxes to reconsider the Baggage Rules, as was also suggested by the Court in Qamar Jahan v. Union of India (2025).Meanwhile, it passed the following directions:i. Detention receipt should contain contact details of the tourist including email address and mobile/ WhatsApp number; ii. Coloured images of the gold ornaments/ jewellery detained from the tourist should be attached to the detention receipt; iii. Copy of the said images should be provided to the concerned tourist and the same shall also be retained on record of the Customs Department.Also read: Foreign National Wearing Personal Jewellery To India Not Subject To Import Duty: Delhi High CourtAppearance: Mr. D.S. Chadha, Adv. for Petitioner; Mr. Anurag Ojha, Senior standing Counsel with Mr. Subham Kumar, Mr. Vipul Kumar and Mr. Dipak Raj, Advocates for RespondentCase title: Anjali Pandey v. Union Of India And OrsCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 114Case no.: W.P.(C) 10482/2024Click here to read order

Foreign Nationals Coming To India Not Required To Declare Personal Gold Jewellery To Customs: Delhi High Court

Kapil Dhyani

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