Use two declaration tests when arriving in India
A passenger bringing foreign exchange into India should declare it to Customs in the Currency Declaration Form (CDF) if foreign currency notes/bank notes exceed USD 5,000 equivalent, or the aggregate of such notes and travellers’ cheques exceeds USD 10,000 equivalent. Test both limits across currencies. A total below USD 10,000 does not excuse notes above USD 5,000. Exactly meeting both limits is different from exceeding either.
Import permission and declaration are different questions
Checked on 24 October 2026. Regulation 6 of the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015 permits a person to bring foreign exchange into India without an amount limit, subject to its conditions, including the exclusion concerning unissued notes and the declaration requirement. The declaration thresholds are therefore not a general prohibition on bringing a larger lawful amount. Chennai Customs passenger guidance explains the two currency-declaration thresholds.
The 2026 amendment, Notification FEMA 6(R)/(5)/2026-RB dated 23 February 2026 inserted the CDF annex and took effect on Gazette publication on 24 February 2026. Do not describe this as the creation of new USD 5,000/USD 10,000 thresholds in 2026. The current form is relevant to the documentary process, while the existing regulation supplies the import framework.
Prepare a currency-by-currency inventory
List notes and travellers’ cheques by currency, then obtain the conversion basis appropriate for the actual declaration. The worked multi-currency conversion below is an illustrative assumption, not an official exchange-rate prescription. The notes test aggregates note values; it is not a separate USD 5,000 allowance for each currency. The broader test adds the travellers’ cheque values to the note values.
This article addresses physical foreign exchange on arrival. Do not treat a card spending limit, an outward-remittance LRS ceiling, a foreign-exchange purchase limit or a post-arrival retention rule as the CDF threshold. They serve different purposes. Declaration also does not establish the income-tax treatment or the source of the money.
Complete the form and keep the endorsed evidence
The 2026 annex has currency-wise columns for notes, travellers’ cheques and totals, together with passenger identity and Customs certification. Its instructions call for aggregate values; individual note or cheque details need not be furnished in that form. Foreign tourists need not indicate their address. Verify passport and nationality entries and obtain the relevant Customs certification rather than keeping only an unsigned personal worksheet.
Keep the form accessible for an authorised bank or money changer when converting foreign exchange to rupees or reconverting rupees. Preserve encashment evidence with the form. The annex specifically advises visitors who do not encash the whole declared amount to retain it for Customs at departure so they can take the unused balance with them.
Arrival records should support the later reconciliation
For a non-resident visitor, reconcile brought-in and declared funds, conversions and unused balance. Regulation 7 addresses export, including the relevant condition for taking out unspent foreign exchange brought in and declared. An arithmetical balance alone is not a complete departure permission. Resident retention and export situations require their own applicable analysis.
Do not combine unrelated genuine arrivals into an invented annual CDF allowance, or split a person’s funds on paper to obscure what is actually carried. The working should identify the actual passenger, actual arrival and actual possession. Where a conversion or counting issue is material, resolve it with Customs before relying on a boundary calculation.
Worked illustrations
These illustrations use fictional facts and expressly stated assumptions. Amounts are Indian rupees unless a different currency or unit is specified. They are independent examples, not findings about any actual client.
Illustrative example 1: Both exact boundaries
Notes are USD 5,000 and travellers’ cheques USD 5,000. Notes equal USD 5,000 and aggregate equals USD 10,000. Neither stated threshold is exceeded, so these amounts fall within the declaration exception under the threshold tests, assuming the facts are complete.
Illustrative example 2: Notes exceed their limit despite a lower total
Notes are USD 5,001 and there are no travellers’ cheques. Total is only USD 5,001, but notes exceed USD 5,000 by USD 1. Declaration is required on these assumed facts.
Illustrative example 3: Travellers’ cheques push the aggregate over
Notes are USD 4,000 and travellers’ cheques USD 6,001. Notes are below USD 5,000, but aggregate = USD 10,001, exceeding USD 10,000 by USD 1. Declaration is required.
Illustrative example 4: Different currencies share the notes test
A passenger has USD 2,000 notes and EUR 3,000 notes. At a purely illustrative USD 1.10 per EUR, euro notes equal USD 3,300 and combined notes equal USD 5,300. The notes threshold is exceeded by USD 300. Confirm the actual declaration conversion basis separately.
Illustrative example 5: An addition changes both tests
Initially notes are USD 4,500 and travellers’ cheques USD 5,000: aggregate USD 9,500. Adding USD 600 notes changes notes to USD 5,100 and aggregate to USD 10,100. Both limits are then exceeded; the original worksheet is no longer usable.
Illustrative example 6: Separate genuine arrivals are not an annual allowance
On an assumed January arrival, a person carries USD 4,000 notes and no cheques. On a separate genuine February arrival, that person again carries USD 4,000 notes and no cheques. Annual addition gives USD 8,000, but each actual arrival has USD 4,000 for this declaration test. This is an illustration of the measurement event, not advice to split or conceal funds.
Illustrative example 7: Unused visitor balance needs documentary support
A non-resident visitor brings and declares USD 12,000, then encashes USD 7,000. The arithmetic unused balance is USD 5,000. Retain the certified CDF and encashment endorsements for the applicable departure process; the USD 5,000 calculation alone does not establish every export condition.
Ten-step verification table
| Step | Verification | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identify the passenger and actual arrival | Passport and itinerary details. |
| 2 | Inventory foreign notes and travellers’ cheques | Currency-wise possession schedule. |
| 3 | Establish the actual conversion basis | Dated conversion evidence appropriate to declaration. |
| 4 | Aggregate all note currencies for the notes test | USD-equivalent notes working. |
| 5 | Add notes and travellers’ cheques for the total test | Combined foreign-exchange working. |
| 6 | Apply strict greater-than comparisons to both limits | Boundary check and documented result. |
| 7 | Use the applicable CDF when declaration is required | Completed current form. |
| 8 | Check Customs certification and passenger details | Stamped or otherwise applicable certified record. |
| 9 | Link later encashment and reconversion evidence | CDF and authorised conversion records. |
| 10 | Reconcile unused balance under the applicable departure rules | Visitor/resident status review and departure documents. |
Sixteen practitioner FAQs
1. Is USD 10,000 the only declaration test?
No. Notes above USD 5,000 equivalent independently require attention to the declaration obligation.
2. Must notes of exactly USD 5,000 be declared solely for that figure?
That figure alone does not exceed the notes threshold; still test the broader aggregate and all relevant facts.
3. What happens at aggregate exactly USD 10,000?
The stated aggregate threshold is not exceeded, provided the separate notes threshold also remains unexceeded.
4. Can each currency use its own USD 5,000 allowance?
No. Convert and aggregate note values for the notes comparison.
5. Are travellers’ cheques ignored?
No. They enter the broader aggregate test with the notes.
6. Are these thresholds an absolute import cap?
No. Regulation 6 distinguishes import permission from the requirement to declare.
7. Did the 2026 amendment create the thresholds?
No. It inserted the CDF annex; the thresholds already formed part of the framework.
8. When did that form amendment take effect?
On Gazette publication, 24 February 2026, as identified on RBI’s notification.
9. Does the form require individual banknote serial numbers?
The annex instructions say individual note or travellers’ cheque details need not be furnished; it uses aggregate currency values.
10. Does a foreign tourist have to state an address on this form?
The annex instructions say foreign tourists need not indicate their address.
11. Is a self-prepared calculation enough when declaration is required?
No. Complete the applicable Customs declaration and retain its certification.
12. Why keep the form after leaving the arrival counter?
It supports later authorised conversion, reconversion and the visitor’s applicable unused-balance departure process.
13. Can an outward LRS limit replace this test?
No. An outward-remittance framework is different from physical currency brought on arrival.
14. Is the illustrative euro rate an official Customs rate?
No. Obtain the actual appropriate conversion basis for the transaction.
15. Does declaration make the money tax-exempt?
No. CDF compliance does not decide its income-tax character.
16. Can unused balance automatically be taken out merely because the subtraction is correct?
No. Match the arithmetic with the applicable export conditions, status and supporting declaration or conversion records.
Conclusion
Prepare both threshold calculations before arrival and retain the appropriate certified declaration. The same evidence should reconcile later conversions and any unused visitor balance.