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I am travelling from DRC to Mumbai soon. I was gifted 3 bottles of alcohol by friends here. Understanding that customs might require the receipt, I have collected it from them.

Mumbai Airport allows 2L of duty-free alcohol while this rule is quite confusing. The alcohol I have with me is not duty-free as it is paid with taxes. Will I be able to shop in the duty-free section despite having around 2.75L in check in baggage?

How much duty will I have to pay if I want to grab a Double Black Jack Daniel's? It is one of my favourite. The gifts I received are a different one. I'd be okay to buy a DB duty-paid if reasonable.

Thanks.

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    If you are travelling to Mumbai, how would you access the duty free area of Mumbai Airport (which is only accessible from departures)? Please clarify the question a bit.
    – RedBaron
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 15:35
  • As I remember, it's accessible for arrival as well, last year around March I purchased Double Black while returning from Bangkok.
    – Ankit Pise
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 16:16
  • Several airports allow arriving passengers to shop at the duty-free. If memory serves, not only Mumbai (BOM), but also Istanbul and Tel Aviv. At Tel Aviv, you could even buy a large appliance (like a refrigerator) on the way out and collect it on your return.
    – Andrew Lazarus
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 17:33
  • @AnkitPise You are correct. BOM does have arrivals duty free shops, but the rules of customs in India still apply. When you cross the customs checkpoint you cannot bring more than allowed personal allowance (2L of spirits) without paying customs duty. The personal allowance can be bought either at arrivals duty free or from your origin, but the nett. weight/volume of the entire stock must be below the specified limits.
    – RedBaron
    Commented Apr 13, 2018 at 6:16

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The problem is not so much what they let you buy, but rather what they let you bring into the country without paying taxes. Whether you did pay taxes or not in the origin country is not relevant, the only thing that matters to them is if you paid taxes in India.

The limit of alcohol you can bring into India without paying taxes on arrival is 2 litres. As you are exceeding this allowance, you will have to pay taxes (very very expensive taxes, over 150%) for everything over those 2 litres, whether you bought it abroad and paid taxes, bought it duty free abroad, or bought it duty free in India.

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  • +1 You can add a link to the Customs guidelines which clearly mention that customs duty of 150% + 4% ACD is leviable on spirits above allowance.
    – RedBaron
    Commented Apr 13, 2018 at 6:21

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