Duty Free in Indian Airports

nycank

I am interested in pricing info for in-bound and out-bound duty free shops in major indian airports such as DEL,BOM,MAA,CCU. The reason is simple Why carry a liter of GreyGoose from elsewhere when it might be easier to pick up just before exiting customs in DEL ?

Or a box of cigars from BOM while leaving for EU ?

Hence, a community request: Please post your collective information as you arrive/depart airports in India. It will also reduce the burden inbound of carrying and storing your Dutyfree in the overhead bin during flight....

jyotirmoy

Booze is cheaper no doubt at the duty free shop in DEL but the variety is limited. So you may not find what you want.

nayan

I had a stopovet in mumbai international airport for 5-6 hrs once. spent some of the time looking through the 3(or 2?) duty free outlets.
Dont waste your time on them.... I dont know about the booze/tobacco prices but I dont think they have ANYTHING tempting in them.

crvlvr

Indian duty free shops may be cheaper than the Indian market proces. but, that is not saying much as market prices for say imported booze, is about 100% more expensive than international prices. Plus, as others have pointed out selecion is limited. My advise? Bring as much as you can (2 litres) from abroad.

Mickey S

The duty-free shop at Delhi International is grim (like the rest of the airport). Extraordinarily poor selection (think pre-1990 eastern Europe), very high prices (approximately twice what a supermarket in London would charge) and they will only accept foreign currency (so no chance of using left-over rupees).

Forget about buying anything duty-free in India. If your home airport has a duty-free shop for arrivals then use it.

Nick-H

Among the new, modern additions to Chennai airport is a duty-free shop! I think there may have been a sort of excuse for one before, but this looks real.

Anyway, this was for arrivals. All I really noticed was that the giant Toblerones, of which I'd carried a dozen from London, didn't seem a very different price.

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

karuna

The duty-free at Delhi airport reminded me of my trip to Russia in 1994 when I first saw it! Half empty shelves of the same 3 products. You hit the nail on the head: grim.

It's worth noting that they are doing it up and adding new shops in the departure lounge now, so maybe, soon......ish....

wonderwomanusa

On my last trip to India, cigarettes in Delhi duty free (upon leaving India) were at least $10 cheaper per carton than the same cigarettes at the Frankfurt airport.

jyotirmoy

Yes cigarettes in Delhi duty free is cheap and I found the liquor prices less than that at other European airports that I checked.

capt_mahajan

Indian duty free is cheaper than Europe, generally speaking.

But like many have said, poor selection.

I wouldn't bet on getting Greygoose or decent cigars there. Smirnoff and popular (in India) brands of Scotch and cigarettes, yes.

For those like me who look for stuff you don't normally get in India (good Tequila, Schnapps or wine), Indian duty free is not an option.

__________________
.
Humpty Dumpty was pushed. How do you know when push comes to shove?
Indiamike moderating team ..ich bin ein oneliner

vinayverma

I find Delhi Duty free shops cheaper than europe, US and Australia. Comparable to Singapore, Bangkok, KL and HK. As mentioned above, the Indian duty free shops lack variety and the main focus is on alcohol and cigerettes (not cigars). Everything else is not on their priority list. Very limited range of perfumes, gifts, toys, electronics etc.
At the same time, I must say in last one year the quality and quantity of Duty free shop at least at Delhi has gone up considerably. However, out-bound duty free shops are better than in-bound ones. In-bound ones are again just stock alcohol and cigerettes. in-bound When you clear the immigration and walk towards the lugguge belt, you might even miss these 2-3 shops.

__________________
If Life is a journey....travel on...and on..on..on.....

nycank

Its all about the real-estate of my carryon If I had to check luggage, I'd not be asking many of these waxing questions... I do don't - hence I asked.

Would'nt it be nice the gateways to Backoffice to the World would atleast have a website listing their inventory and pricing....

OK so inbound no Grey Goose, what about Havana Club or Mount Gay rums ? Jamesons Irish ?