No need to pay customs duty on imported gifts valued below Rs 5,000

For occasional gifting, the sender can split the package to ensure the parcel is below the duty-free value

When Neeti Korgaonkar received a parcel from her sister in Australia, the postman asked her to pay about Rs 4,000 as customs duty. Trivedi was surprised as the duty came to about 70 per cent of the value all items her sister had sent, which included clothes and soft toys for Trivedi’s two-year-old daughter. Above all, this was a gift for personal use and not a commercial transaction.

Customs duty is applicable on all items that are ‘imported’ in the country. There is, however, some relief for those who receive the ‘imported’ items as a gift. According to the laws,