help - US$ or IN. Rupees

Hi.. Can anyone on the net give me the info about carrying cash in US dollars and in indian rupees to India ? How much money one can carry in cash through Bombay customs legally ? si

AFAIK, there is no limit on the amount of cash you can bring in, but you have to fill up a currency declaration form if the amount is greater than USD 1000, counting both cash and travellers' cheques (I am not very sure on this figure, somebody else will come along and correct me).

You cannot carry Indian Rupees into India (unless coming in from Nepal or Bhutan) since you were not supposed to take them out in the first place (except for Rs. 1000 for leftover change, I think).

manojb, I think is 10,000 USD.
Anyway, suja_1981 why you are thinking about carrying rupies in India? You can travel easy with your dollars (or euros) and change them everywhere in India.

Ciao.

[QUOTE=Serena]manojb, I think is 10,000 USD.

Yes one can carry USD 10,000 in cash or traveller cheques, above 10,000 one has to declare, (wonders though how many declare)

that's what I thought. But a friend of mine was able to get Rupees from a bank here in Switzerland, so I'm not sure how strict those rules are...

http://www.geocities.com/indiancusto...misc.htm#fcout

(b) How much foreign currency may be brought into India ?

Any person can bring into India from a place outside India foreign exchange without any limit. However, declaration of foreign exchange/currency is required to be made in the prescribed Currency Declaration Form (CDF) before Customs in the following cases:-

(a) Where the value of foreign currency notes (cash) exceeds US$ 5000/- or equivalent
(b) Where the aggregate value of foreign exchange (in the form of cash + bank notes, traveler cheques etc.) exceeds US$ 10,000/- or its equivalent.

Not every one knows thew rules. I crossed into Pakistan through the Wagah crossing in 2004. There were people who were carrying wads of indian rupees and they declared them to the customs officer. She was not too bothered even though they were breaking the law.

It is always best to remain on the safe side when it comes to dealing with customs and excise officers, so I would stick with your local currency rather than carrying RS.

Re-hashing a bit of an old thread, but if I bring in Canadian dollars to Delhi airport, will the foreign exchange fees be reasonable? I believe I saw in another thread there is a Thomas Cook there?

Would I be better to first convert to US dollars as many countries don't accept Canadian dollars for exchange?

Carry US $ as there are more options outside of Thomas Cook and few other exchange agents to convert US $ to INR.

I back calculated and there is insignificant difference converting CAN$-INR or CAN$-US$-INR. Even currency exchange fees should hardly make a difference.

Thanks Diehard!

I am going to disagree. I have found the Canuck dollar on many an exchange board and needless exchanges eat up cash. I think its consensus that you get what you need for the first day or so at the airport and then get a moderately better rate in town. I use a lot plastic in transactions these days..

Will bring $100 US just in case and use my debit/credit card to exhchange in town. Thanks guys.