Traveling to India – Procedures, Duty Free Allowance and Baggage Rules

When you visit (or return to) India, you will be given India Arrival Card (Foreigners only, not for Indian citizens) in the plan. A separate customs declaration form is needed only if you have any dutiable goods to declare and it is not required for everyone. Please complete those forms and keep them ready. As soon as you deplane, you will have to stand in line for immigration clearance. Give the arrival card (if applicable) and the customs form (if applicable) to the immigration officer. They will return your passport and stamped customs form. An officer will check to make sure you have the required passport, visa, etc., and will stamp your passport as proof that you legally entered India on a given date. Make sure your passport is stamped and has the correct date before you leave the immigration counter.

Once you clear immigration formalities, you will proceed to the luggage trolley to retrieve your luggage from the conveyer belt. (The use of luggage trolleys is free.)

Before you leave the airport, you will see two channels to exit.

There are two channels for customs clearance:

1. The Green Channel is for passengers not having any dutiable goods.
2. The Red Channel is for passengers having dutiable goods.

Passengers walking through the Green Channel with dutiable/prohibited goods are liable to prosecution/penalty and confiscation of goods.

In Red channel, give the stamped customs form to the customs officer.

Penal Provisions
The Indian Customs Act empowers imposition of heavy penalties for those passengers who:

• attempt to walk through the Green Channel with prohibited, restricted or dutiable goods.
• misdeclare their goods at the Red Channel
• attempt to export prohibited or restricted goods.
• abet the commission of any of the above offences.

The Penal Provision may lead to:

• absolute confiscation of goods, or
• imposition of heavy fine in respect of the concerned goods if these are released;
• imposition of penalty on individual or concerned entities upto five times the value of goods or the duty involved.
• Arrest and prosecution including invocation of preventive detention in serious cases.

Detained/Mishandled Baggage

Detained Baggage
A passenger may request that Customs detain his baggage either for re-export at the time of his departure from India or for clearance subsequently on payment of duty.

The detained baggage will be examined and full details will be inventoried.

Such baggage is kept in the custody of the customs.

Mishandled Baggage
In case the baggage has been lost or mishandled by the Airlines, a simplified procedure is in place for clearance of such baggage which allows the passenger to have delivery of his baggage at his door step by the Airlines.

There is no need to handover the passport or the keys of the baggage. The passenger is merely required to complete the Custom declaration form authorizing the Airline to complete the formalities when the baggage arrives. The passenger is required to obtain a certificate to that effect from the airlines and get it countersigned by Customs indicating specifically the unutilized portion of the free allowance. This would enable the passenger to avail the unutilized portion of the duty free allowance when his baggage is delivered by the airlines.

The passenger is required to submit all these documents with the concerned airlines for clearance and delivery of goods on his behalf.

Immigration Check

Immigration check is done for all passengers, Indians, or foreigners, both at the time of arrival and departure. The passports are duly stamped at arrival as well as departure. Passengers should be careful to see that their passports are stamped before leaving the immigration counter.

Arrival Card or Departure Card (Embarkation Card) are not required by Indian or foreign citizens.

Refusal to Enter

Under the Foreigners Act of India, permission to enter India can be refused if:

• the foreigner is not in possession of a valid passport or visa for India, and has not been exempted from the possession of a passport or visa;
  
  
• is mentally disturbed or a mentally defective person;
  
  
• is suffering from an infectious disease dangerous to the public health, including HIV;
  
  
• has been sentenced in a foreign country for an extraditable offense under the Indian Extradition Act;
  
  
• or whose entry is prohibited either under an order issued by a competent authority or the Central Government;
  
  
• his/her entry is prejudicial to the interest of the country.
  
  

Contravention of the Foreigners Act carries a maximum penalty of one year’s imprisonment (with or without fine).

Satellite Phones

A satellite phone is not permitted to be imported except against a license to be issued by the WPC wing of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.