When you visit (or return to) India, you will be given India Arrival (Disembarkation) Card/Customs Form in the plane. Please complete that form and keep it ready. As soon as you deplane, you will have to stand in line for immigration clearance. Give the disembarkation/customs form to the officer. They will stamp it, tear off the disembarkation card and return your passport and stamped customs form. An officer will check to make sure you have the required passport, visa, etc., and will stamp your passport as proof that you legally entered India on a given date. Make sure your passport is stamped and has the correct date before you leave immigration counter.

Once you clear immigration formalities, you will proceed to the luggage trolley to retrieve your luggage from the conveyer belt.

Before you leave the airport, you will see two channels to exit.

There are two channels for customs clearance:

1. The Green Channel is for passengers not having any dutiable goods.
2. The Red Channel is for passengers having dutiable goods.

Passengers walking through the Green Channel with dutiable/prohibited goods are liable to prosecution/penalty and confiscation of goods.

In either channel, give the stamped customs form to the customs officer.

Caution:
The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act bans all forms of wildlife trade. Violations of the provisions of the Act are punishable with heavy fines and imprisonment. Foreigners are therefore advised to abstain from purchasing any wildlife or wildlife products or derivatives - especially ivory articles, fur and skin articles derived from wild animals such as Shahtoosh.

Beware:
Foreigners should not buy, sell, or use psychotropic drugs or any other narcotic substances while in India, as their purchase, sale, or possession is a cognizable offense punishable by imprisonment.

Detained Baggage
A passenger may request that Customs detain his baggage either for re-export at the time of his departure from India or for clearance subsequently on payment of duty.

The detained baggage will be examined and full details will be inventoried.

Such baggage is kept in the custody of the customs.

Mishandled Baggage
If baggage has been lost or mishandled by the airlines, the passenger is required to obtain a certificate to that effect from the airlines, and have it countersigned by Customs, indicating specifically the unutilized portion of the free allowance. This would enable the passenger to avail the unutilized portion of the duty-free allowance when his baggage is delivered by the airlines.

Immigration check is done for all passengers, Indians or foreigners, both at the time of arrival and departure. The passports are duly stamped at arrival as well as departure. Passengers should be careful to see that their passports are stamped before leaving the immigration counter.

All passengers, Foreigners as well as Indians, entering India or departing from India are required to fill out D (Disembarkation) Cards and E (Embarkation) Cards on arrival and departure respectively. The following information is required to be provided by the passengers in these cards:

• Name and sex.
• Date of birth, place of birth, nationality.
• Passport details, viz. number, place and dates of issue/expiry.
• Visa details, viz. number, place and dates of issue/expiry (for arriving foreigners only).
• Address in India.
• Flight number and date of arrival/departure.
• Occupation.
• Purpose of visit to/from India.

Under the Foreigners Act of India, permission to enter India can be refused if:

• the foreigner is not in possession of a valid passport or visa for India, and has not been exempted from the possession of a passport or visa;
  
  
• is mentally disturbed or a mentally defective person;
  
  
• is suffering from an infectious disease dangerous to the public health, including HIV;
  
  
• has been sentenced in a foreign country for an extraditable offense under the Indian Extradition Act;
  
  
• or whose entry is prohibited either under an order issued by a competent authority or the Central Government;
  
  
• his/her entry is prejudicial to the interest of the country.
  
  

Contravention of the Foreigners Act carries a maximum penalty of one year's imprisonment (with or without fine).