This guide shows you how to check whether the cash or gold you’re taking from Australia to India needs a customs declaration. It suits family-visit travellers carrying money or jewellery for relatives, weddings or festivals. You’ll need your forex receipts, jewellery receipts and an approximate weight for each piece. Difficulty: easy. Time: about 10 minutes.
Quick answer: two separate rule sets
India has no single “duty-free cash” figure. Cash is governed by declaration thresholds, and gold by weight allowances.
- Per the CBIC Currency Declaration Form (CDF) instructions, you need to declare if foreign currency notes exceed USD 5,000 and/or total foreign exchange (notes plus travellers’ cheques) exceeds USD 10,000.
- Per CBIC’s Guide for International Travellers (updated February 2026), eligible returning residents or tourists of Indian origin who have stayed abroad for more than one year can bring jewellery duty-free up to 40 grams (female) or 20 grams (others).
- Gold or silver in any form other than ornaments, such as bars, isn’t eligible for free allowances.
Steps
- Convert your cash to USD. Multiply your AUD amount by the current AUD-to-USD rate. Use your bank’s rate or the Reserve Bank of Australia’s published daily rates.
- Test both thresholds. USD 6,000 in notes needs a CDF. USD 4,000 in notes plus USD 7,000 in travellers’ cheques also needs one, because the total is USD 11,000. Card balances aren’t foreign currency notes or cheques.
- Weigh your jewellery. Add up the grams and compare them with your 40g or 20g allowance. Anything above it may attract customs duty.
- Set bullion aside. Treat any gold bars or coins as declarable goods, not as part of your allowance.
- Check the Australian side. AUSTRAC requires you to declare A$10,000 or more (or the foreign equivalent), including travellers’ cheques, when leaving Australia.
- Declare if needed. Use ATITHI 2.0 up to three days before arrival, then take the Red Channel. If you have nothing to declare, use the Green Channel.
- Keep your paperwork. Retain forex receipts and jewellery receipts. Show the CDF to an authorised bank or money changer when converting, and keep the endorsed copy if you won’t encash everything.
Checkpoint: you should now know your USD total, your jewellery grams and whether you’re heading for the Red Channel. Mann Travel’s guide to Indian airport procedures covers what happens after landing.
Warning: don’t carry bullion and assume the 40g or 20g allowance covers it. It doesn’t.
Troubleshooting
- You forgot to file electronically: go to the Red Channel and ask the Customs Help Desk in the arrival hall.
- You’re unsure whether a piece counts: declare it. Wedding jewellery you’ll take back out may be handled with a Temporary Baggage Import Certificate (Form CBD-IV).
What you’ve done
You’ve converted your cash to USD, checked it against the CDF thresholds, measured your jewellery against the weight allowance and prepared your documents. Next, confirm your baggage allowance and flight details. Mann Travel’s consultants can help on 1300 754 002, 24/7.
