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The basic rule
Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), resident Indians can buy foreign currency for travel. For cash notes, each traveller may carry up to USD 3,000 equivalent per trip, unless a different destination limit applies.
The limit belongs to each traveller, not to each order. A family of four can each have their own allowance, but each person must be a real traveller on the trip with their own passport and ticket.
Cash bought elsewhere counts
If you have already bought foreign currency notes for the same trip from a bank or another dealer, declare it in USD equivalent when ordering. It is deducted from the remaining allowance.
Currency left over from an earlier trip that you are carrying again does not need to be bought, but your own records should show where it came from.
Destination exceptions
Some destinations have a different cash limit in our compliance settings, for example Iraq and Libya at USD -. The quote applies the right limit automatically when you choose the destination.
Cards and transfers are separate
Card spending and bank transfers abroad are also LRS spending and count toward your yearly LRS total, which matters for TCS. They do not add to the cash-note allowance.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Limits shown come from our current settings and can change with the rules.