Destination file · india

Buy from Switzerland,
delivered to India.

The tax stacks, and the paperwork is personal

India charges basic customs duty, then a social welfare surcharge on the duty, then IGST on everything including the duty. Each layer is assessed on a base that already contains the one before it, so the headline rate understates the total by a wide margin. Add a mandatory KYC on the consignee and this is the most administratively demanding destination we serve.

Provisional · awaiting verification

This file was reconstructed from a rendered build after the original source was lost. Rates come from the quote engine and were cross-checked against the recovered page, but the editorial detail has not been verified against primary customs sources. Treat the quote as indicative until that review is recorded here.

15%Basic customs duty, before the surcharge
18%IGST, assessed on the duty-paid value
INR 5 000Gift relief only — not a general threshold
5–7Working days from Geneva

What duty actually costs

Three layers, compounding.

Basic customs duty applies to the CIF value. A social welfare surcharge applies to the duty. IGST applies to the CIF value plus duty plus surcharge. The order matters as much as the rates, and it is why an import that looks like 15% arrives closer to 40%.

Duty on Swiss goodsReconstructed 17 August 2026 · rates from the quote engine · awaiting verification
0%10%20%38.5%201510%201912.5%202215%202615%
Duty you actually payEffective rate after surcharge and IGSTWhat the declaration is worth
  • 1 Jul 2017GST replaces the old indirect taxesIGST at 18% becomes the standard rate on imports, assessed on the duty-paid value rather than on the goods alone.18%
  • 2019 onwardDuties raised on consumer goodsBasic customs duty on several consumer categories rises as part of domestic manufacturing policy. Watches, electronics and cosmetics are affected.15%
  • OngoingConsignee KYC requiredCouriers must hold identity documentation for the consignee before release. Without it the parcel sits in customs indefinitely.—
  • The layers compound rather than add. Duty on CIF, surcharge on the duty, IGST on all of it. On a CHF 1 000 order the difference between adding the rates and compounding them is close to CHF 60 — which is why our quote and a naive calculator will disagree, and why ours is the one you should plan against.

Sources: Indian Customs Tariff, Chapter-wise basic duty rates; Finance Act provisions on the social welfare surcharge; CBIC circulars on IGST on imports and on courier KYC requirements. Reconstructed 17 August 2026 and not yet verified line by line. Rates are re-checked on the morning of every purchase and confirmed before anything is charged.

Landed cost

What it actually costs to land in India.

Every figure updates live. The duty basis, tax base and de-minimis rule change with the destination — that is the whole reason this page exists.

Goods, Swiss retail1 × CHF 1'649.00 incl. VAT1'649.00
Swiss VAT refunded8.1% reclaimed on export− 123.56
Net declared valuethe customs value1'525.44
Service fee8% of net · min. CHF 20122.04
Handlinginspection and extras25.00
Air freight14.8 kg chargeable · 5–7 days183.45
Import dutyBasic customs duty · social welfare surcharge applies on top · 15.0% on CIF · HS 8516.71256.33
IGST18% standard · assessed on the duty-paid value353.74
Total landed, DDP
Nothing owed on arrivalCHF 2'466.00≈ 261,396 INR

Most requested

What people buy from Switzerland.

High duty makes low-value imports poor value here. What works is the high-value, low-weight end, where Swiss retail pricing and the VAT refund outweigh the layered tax.

  • ✓Mechanical watchesIndian retail pricing on Swiss watches carries the full duty stack plus dealer margin. Buying at the Swiss price with the VAT reclaimed frequently beats it even after import tax.
  • ✓Swiss pharmacy and dermatological linesNot distributed in India. Personal quantities only.
  • ✓Precision instruments and componentsWhere the Indian distributor lead time runs to months.
  • ✓Victorinox and Swiss cutleryFull range, in personal quantities.
  • ✓Caran d'Ache and Swiss stationeryLight, dense in value, and not available domestically.

Restricted or refused

What we will not ship there.

We screen every request against this list before quoting. A refusal costs you nothing; a seizure costs you the goods.

  • ✕Anything without consignee KYCNot a restriction we impose — the courier cannot release the parcel without identity documentation for you. We collect it before shipping rather than letting the parcel strand.
  • ✕Gold, jewellery and precious metalsRestricted for personal import with specific declaration requirements. We decline.
  • ✕Medicines, supplements and medical devicesImport licence required. Declined, as everywhere.
  • ✕Meat, dairy and food of animal originProhibited or licence-only for personal import.
  • ✕Satellite phones and certain radio equipmentProhibited outright. We screen the model before purchase.

Transit

Geneva to your door.

All routes are tracked and insured to full replacement value. Duty and tax are prepaid by us on every service, so nothing is collected from you on arrival.

ServiceDoor to door
DHL ExpressDefault, best customs handling and KYC process5–6 days
FedEx International PriorityAlternative express routing5–7 days
UPS Worldwide SaverBusiness accounts with a broker6–8 days
Swiss Post PriorityEconomy, slower clearance12–20 days

Questions

Shipping to India, answered.

Why is the total so much higher than the duty rate?

Because the taxes compound. Basic customs duty applies to the CIF value, a social welfare surcharge applies to that duty, and IGST at 18% applies to the whole duty-paid value. Each sits on a base containing the previous one.

What is the INR 5 000 threshold?

Gift relief, and it is narrow: bona fide gifts between individuals, not commercial consignments and not purchasing-agent shipments. Assume it does not apply to your order.

What is the KYC requirement?

Indian customs requires the courier to hold identity documentation for the consignee before release. We collect what is needed before the parcel ships, because a shipment held for KYC can sit for weeks.

Is it worth it at all?

For high-value, low-weight goods, frequently yes. A Swiss watch at the Swiss price with 8.1% VAT reclaimed, plus Indian import tax, often still lands below Indian retail on the same reference. For low-value goods the tax stack usually makes it uneconomic, and we will tell you so.

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