Flight Cash/Gold Limit: If you carry more gold or cash than the prescribed limit in a flight, you may face a fine or legal action. Let us know how much gold and cash you can carry in a flight and what rules are necessary to follow.
Flight Cash Gold Rules: 14.2 kg of gold bars have been seized from Kannada actress Ranya Rao at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, with an estimated value of Rs 12.56 crore. Actress Ranya Rao is the stepdaughter of senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ramachandra Rao. In the case, a total of Rs 17.29 crore worth of material was seized, including other items worth Rs 4.73 crore. Investigation has revealed that she was part of the gold smuggling network and used to take huge commission for smuggling goods from Dubai to Bengaluru. If you also travel by flight in the country and abroad and do not want to get into any such trouble, then you need to be aware of some rules and limits.
Customs and security checks are strict at airports in India, and if you carry more gold or cash than the prescribed limit, you may face a fine or legal action. Let us know how much gold and cash you can carry on a flight and what rules need to be followed.
How much gold and cash can you carry on a domestic flight?
Limit for carrying gold
There is no set limit on gold in domestic flights (travel within India), but if you have a large amount of gold, then the security check (CISF) and the Income Tax Department can ask you about the source of the gold. If you are traveling with more than 500 grams of gold, then you must have a proper purchase bill for it. If you carry more gold without a bill, the Income Tax Officer can confiscate the gold and you may also be fined.
Limit of carrying cash
There is no set limit on how much cash you can carry in domestic flights, but if the cash is more than ₹ 50,000, then you may have to tell its source. If you carry more than ₹ 2 lakh in cash, the Income Tax Department can investigate and if you are unable to tell the correct source of the cash, the department can confiscate it and a heavy fine can be imposed.
How much gold and cash can you carry in international flights?
Limit on carrying gold
Strict rules apply to gold when travelling abroad. If you are travelling abroad from India, different countries have their own rules, so you should know the customs rules of that country.
If you are returning to India from abroad, then this limit is fixed for bringing gold:
Male travellers: Can bring gold up to ₹50,000 (in different jewellery). Female travellers: Can bring gold up to ₹1,00,000 (in different jewellery). Children below 12 years of age: Can bring gold up to ₹25,000. If the gold is more than the fixed limit, then custom duty will have to be paid. Apart from gold jewellery, if you bring gold biscuits or bars, then more duty will be charged on it.
Limit for carrying cash
Limit for carrying cash while travelling abroad from India:
Any Indian traveller can carry up to $3000 (about ₹2.5 lakh) in foreign currency. If you have to carry more cash than this, then you will have to take permission from RBI. Indian Rupees up to ₹25,000 can be taken abroad.
Limit of bringing cash while returning to India from abroad:
You can bring up to $5000 (approximately ₹4.2 lakhs) in foreign currency. If you have more than $10,000 (₹8.3 lakhs) in cash and travellers cheques, you will have to declare it to the customs department.
What action can be taken if you carry more gold or cash than the limit?
If you travel with more gold or cash than the prescribed limit, the customs department, income tax department and security agencies can question you at the airport. If you carry more gold without a bill, the income tax department can confiscate it. If you carry more cash than the prescribed limit without giving information, the income tax department can consider it as illegal income and impose a fine. If you bring more gold from abroad than the prescribed limit, you will have to pay up to 36% custom duty. If you carry more gold or cash illegally, you can be jailed along with a fine.
