The NRB customs allowance in Bangladesh is not a separate, bigger allowance for non-resident Bangladeshis. Most items are governed by the same passenger baggage rules that apply to every arriving traveler. According to the Customs page of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, read on 27 September 2026, that means items from a duty-free list, 100 grams of gold ornaments, two used phones and one new phone once per year, and goods that stay duty-free "unless considered commercial." Gifts for relatives are not a category of their own. The line that matters is personal use versus commercial quantity.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Baggage rules in Bangladesh change by government notification, often at budget time, so confirm the current version with Bangladesh Customs or the National Board of Revenue (NBR) before you fly.
Where These Rules Come From
Two official sources frame this article, and both were read on 27 September 2026.
The first is the Customs page of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, which summarizes the allowances for arriving passengers and cites S.R.O. No. 261-Act/2025/71/Customs dated 02 June 2025 as its reference.
The second is the NBR baggage rules library, which lists the notifications themselves, including the Non-tourist Passenger Baggage Rules 2025 dated 03 June 2025 (published in Bangla) and the earlier Baggage Rules 2023.
Where the airport summary and the notification differ, the notification is the law. The airport page is the more readable of the two, which is why it is quoted here, but the NBR library is where an amendment appears first.
What "Duty-Free" Actually Covers for an Arriving Passenger
The HSIA page introduces its duty-free list (Schedule 3) with this sentence: "A passenger can bring 01 of the following goods free of duty (tax) at the baggage facility from abroad." The list, as shown on that page, includes:
- A desktop or laptop computer (with a UPS), a scanner or printer
- A non-professional video camera or still camera
- Kitchen appliances such as a microwave, rice cooker, pressure cooker, toaster, blender, juicer or coffee maker
- A household sewing machine and a table, pedestal or ceiling fan
- A plasma, LCD or LED television up to 29 inches
- A component music center with ordinary CD and two speakers
- 100 grams of gold ornaments and 200 grams of silver ornaments, "not more than 12 of the same type"
- One carton (200 sticks) of cigarettes
- A carpet up to 15 square meters
- Sports equipment for personal use
The key reading for a family visit is the quantity. The allowance is framed per item, not as a spending limit. One blender for your mother is on the list. Five blenders for five aunts is a different conversation at the counter.
Gifts for Everyone: Where the Line Sits
Most NRB travelers do not arrive with one laptop. They arrive with clothes, chocolates, cosmetics, perfume and small electronics for a dozen relatives. Nothing on the official page sets a separate gift allowance. What it does set is a test: goods are exempt "unless considered commercial."
"Commercial" is not defined on the airport page with a number, and we are not going to invent one. In practice, it is a judgment made by the customs officer looking at your bags. Things that tend to raise the question are easy to picture:
- Several identical boxed items, especially electronics
- Unopened retail packs in multiples
- Anything that looks like stock for a shop rather than presents for a household
If your bags hold items beyond the Schedule 3 list or in multiples, the straightforward route is to declare them and let the officer assess any duty. The airport page also lists a separate dutiable schedule (Schedule 2), with fixed amounts for items such as larger televisions, refrigerators and professional cameras.
For the wider picture of what any returning passenger can bring, including laptops and gold, see our guide to coming home through Dhaka customs. This article narrows that to the questions NRB travelers ask most.
NRB Customs Allowance Bangladesh: Gold and Jewelry
Gold is the item most families ask about, and it is the one with the most recent changes.
As stated on the HSIA page on 27 September 2026:
- Gold ornaments: 100 grams of gold ornaments and 200 grams of silver ornaments sit on the duty-free list, with "not more than 12 of the same type."
- Gold bar: "A passenger can carry a maximum of 117 grams or 1 (one) gold bar worth 10 tola only once per year after declaring it at the customs." The page lists a tax of Tk 5,000 per 11.664 grams and says excess amounts are confiscated.
Two practical points follow. First, "once per year" means the allowance does not reset with each trip. A traveler who flew in three months ago with a bar has used it. Second, a gold bar is declared, not carried quietly. Walking through without declaring a bar is the scenario the confiscation line is written for.
The Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), the state news agency, reported on 2 July 2025 that NBR amended the rules through SRO No. 312-Law/2025/102/Customs, including clarifying that the jewelry allowance applies yearly. If your trip depends on the gold rule, read the current notification in the NBR library or ask Bangladesh Customs directly.
Phones: The Rule NRBs Trip Over Most
The HSIA page states: "A passenger can import 2 (two) used mobile phones and 1 (one) new mobile phone only once per year without paying duty and tax, however, Rule 10 and other prevailing rules and regulations will apply to mobile phones imported in excess of this."
So a phone you use every day and a spare used phone are within the allowance. One new phone in its box is within it once per year. A second new phone for a cousin falls outside it and is dealt with under the dutiable rules.
There is one NRB-specific wrinkle. The same BSS report of 2 July 2025 said that expatriates holding a BMET card (issued by the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training to registered migrant workers) who have lived abroad for at least six months could bring two new phones a year. We could not read that notification itself on the NBR site today, so treat this as reported rather than confirmed. A migrant worker relying on it can check the current rule with Bangladesh Customs at the airport or through NBR.
Keep the purchase receipt with any new phone. It answers the "new or used" question quickly if an officer asks.
If You Hold a Foreign Passport
Many NRB travelers enter on a foreign passport with an NVR. For customs purposes the baggage allowances above are framed for passengers in general, but one line on the HSIA page separates the two passports:
- Liquor: prohibited for Bangladeshi passport holders; foreign passport holders may bring up to "one liter of liquor or alcoholic beverages" duty-free, as the page stated on 27 September 2026.
Everything else in this article applies whichever passport is in your hand. The immigration side of an arrival is covered in our piece on Dhaka airport immigration questions.
Cash You Carry In
Money is its own subject, but it belongs on the same trolley. The HSIA page says incoming passengers "can bring any amount of foreign currency accompanied," and that if more than USD 10,000 or an equivalent amount is brought in, "the FMJ form must be filled out and declared at customs." How that form works is explained in our guide to the FMJ form at Dhaka customs.
Packing and Weight: Customs Is Not the Airline
The customs allowance and the airline's baggage allowance are two separate limits. Your airline decides how many kilograms you may check in. Customs decides what inside those bags is duty-free. Paying for extra airline weight does not add anything to the customs allowance. Our explainer on airline baggage allowance versus Bangladesh customs rules sets the two side by side.
A Calm Way Through the Hall
A few habits make the customs hall uneventful for a returning family:
- Keep receipts for new electronics and gold in your hand luggage, not in the checked bag.
- Pack gifts as gifts. Opened, mixed and clearly personal items draw fewer questions than stacks of sealed retail boxes.
- Know which items are yours to declare: a gold bar, a second new phone, currency above the declaration threshold, anything in multiples.
- Check the NBR library a week before departure. The NBR list shows baggage notifications dated June 2023, June 2024 and June 2025, so the rules have tended to move around budget time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a special customs allowance for NRBs in Bangladesh?
Not in general. The duty-free list, the gold allowance and the phone rule on the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Customs page apply to arriving passengers generally. The one expatriate-specific change we found reported, by BSS on 2 July 2025, concerns new phones for BMET cardholders, and it should be confirmed with Bangladesh Customs.
How many gifts can I bring duty-free to Bangladesh?
There is no gift count on the official page. Goods are exempt "unless considered commercial," and the Schedule 3 list is framed item by item. Multiple identical items, especially electronics, are what tend to be treated as dutiable.
How much gold can an NRB bring to Bangladesh?
As stated on the HSIA Customs page on 27 September 2026: 100 grams of gold ornaments duty-free, plus one gold bar of up to 117 grams (10 tola) once per year after declaring it and paying the listed tax. Confirm the current rule before flying.
Can I bring a new phone for a relative?
One new phone is within the allowance once per year, alongside two used phones. Further phones fall under Rule 10 and the other dutiable rules, according to the airport's Customs page.
Do foreign passport holders get a different allowance?
The HSIA page lists one difference: foreign passport holders may bring up to one liter of liquor duty-free, while it is prohibited for Bangladeshi passport holders. The other allowances quoted here are framed for passengers in general.