How much gold jewellery can be brought from abroad without paying customs duty

The price of gold per bhori (11.664 grams) has already surpassed Tk 200,000 some time ago — and it continues to climb. With prices soaring day by day, the middle class’ fondness for wearing gold jewellery seems to be fading fast.

However, travellers returning from abroad are allowed to bring a specific amount of gold jewellery without having to pay any customs duties or taxes.

This means that those returning from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, other Middle Eastern countries, or elsewhere can carry gold ornaments into Bangladesh duty-free within certain limits.

There is also a provision allowing the import of gold bars upon payment of a fixed duty.

Facilities for bringing in gold jewellery, gold bars, and mobile phones have been expanded under the current fiscal year’s non-tourist passenger baggage rules.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued this revised regulation during the national budget period.

According to the new Non-Tourist Passenger Baggage Rules 2025, a returning passenger may bring up to 100 grams of gold ornaments once a year without paying any duty. In practical terms, this amounts to roughly eight bhoris and 10 annas of gold jewellery duty-free.

In the case of silver, a passenger may bring up to 200 grams of silver ornaments duty-free. However, whether gold or silver, no more than 12 pieces of jewellery of the same type may be brought in.

In addition, under the new rules, a passenger is permitted to import one gold bar weighing up to 10 tolas once a year, subject to a duty of Tk 5,000 per tola.

Passengers are required to fill out a baggage declaration form upon arrival at a Bangladeshi airport. This form includes personal details such as name, passport number, flight number, nationality, and the country of origin.

Passengers must declare whether they are carrying any goods subject to duty and provide details if applicable.

However, if the amount of gold jewellery does not exceed 100 grams and silver ornaments do not exceed 200 grams, filling out this form is not necessary. Duty will only apply to any excess quantity beyond these limits.

If a passenger’s belongings fall entirely within the duty-free allowance as per the baggage rules, they may exit directly through the Green Channel at the airport without any declaration.

Currently, the price of 22-carat gold in Bangladesh stands at Tk 216,332 per bhori, the highest in the country’s history.

Although gold is neither directly imported nor traded on commodity exchanges in Bangladesh, local prices inevitably rise when global prices increase.

With little or no formal importation, gold brought in under baggage rules has become a major source of supply. Consequently, domestic prices are several thousand taka higher per bhori compared to international market rates.

The sharp rise has also been fuelled by the weakening of the Bangladeshi currency, taka, against the US dollar since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Global financial institutions anticipate further increase in gold prices. Goldman Sachs, an American multinational investment bank and financial services company, has forecast that the price of gold may reach US $4,900 per ounce by December 2026.

Meanwhile, Bank of America Global Research predicts that the price could hit $5,000 per ounce as early as next year.