How to Calculate Duties and Taxes on Imports to India

India stacks its import charges: basic customs duty on the CIF value, a social welfare surcharge on that duty, and IGST on all of it at 5%, 18% or 40%. We found no general low-value exemption, and low-value courier consignments are expressly dutiable. Gifts bought online and sent by post or courier are prohibited unless full duties are paid.

• Valuation basis: CIF
• Tax base: Not confirmed
• IGST standard rate: 18%. IGST on imports follows the GST rates. From 22 September 2025 the main slabs are 5%, 18% and 40%. 18% is shown as standard for most goods; 40% applies to selected goods. Basic customs duty and social welfare surcharge are additional.
• Reduced rates: 5%

Not confirmed

• Duty and tax threshold: null. The old guide's INR 1,000 could not be traced to any CBIC document read. CBIC guidance says duty of INR 100 or less is not collected under Section 25(6), which is an amount of duty and was read only in a 2020 circular.
• taxBase: null. Customs Tariff Act Section 3 was not read.
• A 2020 circular and a CBIC page mention INR 5,000 for gifts; current status not confirmed, so left out as a threshold.
• 18% as 'standard' is our label. India's GST has no statutory standard rate.
• Heading 9804 at 10% and the surcharge read as official-domain excerpts of the budget papers, with the press release title and summary. Notification 03/2026-Customs itself was not read.

• Basic customs duty (BCD): the tariff rate on assessable value. Customs Valuation Rules 2007, rule 10, bring in freight and insurance, which makes it CIF.
• Social welfare surcharge (SWS): 10% of BCD, as CBIC's courier office shows it. Rates are checked per tariff line on the ICEGATE Custom Duty Calculator.
• IGST: on assessable value plus BCD plus SWS. From 22 September 2025, the GST rates are 5%, 18% and 40% under Notification 9/2025-Integrated Tax (Rate). 18% covers most goods, though India's GST law doesn't call it a standard rate.

Anti-dumping or safeguard duty, where it applies, also enters the IGST base, according to an older DGFT note. CBIC runs both customs and GST.

Courier declarations under the Courier Imports and Exports Regulations:

• CBE-XI: documents.
• CBE-XII: gifts and samples, up to INR 10,000 per consignment.
• CBE-XIII: low-value dutiable consignments, invoice value up to INR 100,000.
• CBE-XIV: other dutiable consignments.

Assessable value × BCD rate = BCD. BCD × 10% = SWS. (Assessable value + BCD + SWS) × IGST rate = IGST. Compensation cess or other duties can add to this for some goods.

Section 25(6) of the Customs Act says no duty is collected if the amount is INR 100 or less. That's a limit on duty, not a value threshold, and we read it only in a 2020 circular.

1. Get the CIF value in rupees: the assessable value under the valuation rules.
2. Find the 8-digit code with the HS code classifier, and take BCD and any exemption from ICEGATE's calculator.
3. Add SWS at 10% of BCD, after checking the tariff line.
4. Add assessable value, BCD and SWS, then apply the IGST rate. If you hold a GSTIN, IGST is generally creditable.
5. Confirm the courier route: CBE-XIII up to INR 100,000 invoice value, CBE-XIV above. Our duty calculator will estimate the total.

A smartwatch shipment, INR 60,000 CIF, by courier on CBE-XIII.

A machine part, INR 500,000 CIF, on an ordinary bill of entry.

• Quoting INR 1,000 as a threshold: we couldn't trace it to any CBIC document.
• Reading INR 100,000 as a free band: it defines a declaration category, and these goods are dutiable.
• Applying IGST to CIF only: the base includes BCD and SWS.
• Using old IGST rates: 28% and 12% are gone from the main slabs since 22 September 2025.
• Calling an online purchase a gift to save duty: DGFT prohibits this, except life-saving medicines and rakhi.

DGFT Notification 35/2015-20 of 12 December 2019 prohibits import of goods as gifts through post or courier, including e-commerce purchases, except life-saving medicines and rakhi. CBIC Circular 4/2020 explains this means the old exemption for bona fide gifts can't be claimed by those routes, but the goods can come in if full duty is paid. At that date this meant 35% BCD under heading 9804 and 28% IGST. Both have moved: the Union Budget 2026-27 cut the rate on dutiable goods imported for personal use from 20% to 10%, from 1 April 2026, and the IGST slabs changed on 22 September 2025. We couldn't confirm the status of the INR 5,000 figure mentioned in that circular.

The INR 10,000 for gifts and samples defines the CBE-XII category. It isn't a duty exemption by itself.

Treat this as guidance, not legal advice, and use a customs broker for restricted goods.