Importing to India
Customs duty, VAT, and import regulations, updated 2026
Key facts at a glance
The low value rule
No de minimis. Nothing: no de minimis exists and the narrow gift exemption does not cover post or courier.
The INR 5,000 figure is widely quoted as a general gift allowance. It is real, but it does not apply to a parcel sent by post or courier, which is how every consignment this calculator prices would actually travel.
Source: CBIC Circular No. 4/2020-Customs; CBIC Instruction No. 28/2025-Customs (27 August 2025) restates the duty structure on gifts and personal imports. Compare every market →
What this site prices into India
This site holds 8 duty rows for India, read from its own tariff schedule, and they run from 0% to 20%. 1 of them carries no duty at all.
For comparison, the simple average MFN rate across all products is 15.8% on the 2025 profile. That is the figure the calculator falls back to where this site holds no row for the code you asked about. Source: WTO Tariff and Trade Data, India member profile: simple average MFN applied 2025, all products.
The 18 percent tax line is the standard IGST slab, not a rate for this product. Indian imports also carry a Social Welfare Surcharge on the duty, which is not modelled here.
A worked shipment into India
851713, smartphones (hs 2022 subheading), invoiced at INR 2,000.00 and shipped to India. Duty at 15%.
| Goods | INR 2,000.00 |
| Freight | INR 120.00 |
| Insurance | INR 30.00 |
| Customs duty | INR 322.50 |
| Import tax at 18% | INR 445.05 |
| Landed cost | INR 2,917.55 |
Priced with the same function the duty calculator answers with, so this total is reproducible. See the full table for 851713 →
What this site does not price into India
No code carries a declared absence for India. Every code this site prices into this market carries a figure, and the codes it does not price are not recorded against India separately.
Selling into India rather than buying?
There is no seller guide for India. The seller guides are written only for destinations this site prices thoroughly enough to stand behind, and India is not one of them. The destinations that do have one →
2026 tariff update
The GST rate structure was cut to two main slabs of 5% and 18%, plus a 40% demerit rate, on 22 September 2025, so the old 12% and 28% IGST slabs are gone. Budget 2026 cut basic customs duty on goods imported for personal use from 20% to a flat 10% from 1 April 2026 and raised the duty free baggage allowance to Rs 75,000 from 2 February 2026. The India UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement entered into force on 15 July 2026.
Source: Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Last verified 3 September 2026 (2026-09-03).
Overview
Import process
Practical tips
Restricted and prohibited goods
Certain cattle products, electronic cigarettes, drones without DGCA approval, certain chemicals
What to re-check first
Each claim on this page was checked against a published source on 3 September 2026. These are the items most likely to have moved since.
The two slab structure took effect on 22 September 2025 and reclassified a very large number of lines. Check the current rate for your own HS code rather than assuming the old 12% or 28% band moved where you expect.
The flat 10% basic customs duty on personal use goods applies from 1 April 2026. It does not extend to commercial consignments, which keep their scheduled rates.
CETA staging runs over ten years, so a line that is not duty free on day one may still be dutiable. Check the staging category, not just whether the agreement covers the product.
The prohibition on gift imports by post and courier is easy to miss because older guidance still quotes the withdrawn Rs 5,000 allowance.
Calculate duty for India
Get an instant estimate for any product shipped to India.
Other countries
Common HS codes
847130 Laptops 851713 Smartphones 610910 T-shirts (cotton) 640319 Leather shoes 420211 Leather handbags 910221 Wristwatches 870380 Electric vehicles 220421 Wine Quick links