Buying iPhone Duo in the US or Dubai for use in India: Can you save more? Know tax implications

The iPhone Duo, unveiled at Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event in Cupertino on September 9, is priced between ₹2,99,900 and ₹4,49,900 in India across its four storage variants. The top-end 2TB model has become the most expensive iPhone ever sold in the country.

In the US, the phone starts at $1,999, which is approximately ₹1.91 lakh at current exchange rates before state sales tax. In the UAE, which includes Dubai, the iPhone Duo is priced from AED 8,499 (about ₹2.2 lakh), going up to AED 13,599 for the 2TB version. This leaves a gap of over ₹1 lakh against the Indian price on the base model itself. This gap, however, may not be for the buyers to keep in full, should they plan to buy an iPhone Duo abroad and carry with them to India, according to a tax expert.

"Buying an iPhone Duo and bringing it into India is an option many of India's Gen Z and iPhone enthusiasts are considering. In addition to the air fare of travelling between India and a foreign destination, one more thing these aficionados need to be conscious of is Customs Duty," said CA Siddharth Surana.

According to CA Surana, the iPhone Duo may count as a baggage on which duty exemption is allowed only up to a limit of ₹75,000.

However, used personal effects remain exempt, and passengers aged 18 and above are additionally allowed one laptop duty-free. So if you are already using an iPhone Duo abroad and bring it with you while travelling to India, it won't attract any customs attention. However, if you are bringing a brand new iPhone Duo, you may come under the customs net.

"It is important to note that bringing in the iPhone Duo from a foreign country into India is considered as 'baggage' and attracts Customs Duties. As per the Baggage Rules recently amended in 2026, baggage is duty-free up to ₹75,000 for goods carried in person or in bona fide baggage," Surana said.

In case the customs treat your iPhone Duo as a baggage, then the duty will not be charged not on the full value of the phone but on the amount by which it exceeds the ₹75,000 allowance. "Thus, if your iPhone Duo abroad costs in INR terms, say ₹2,00,000, then you will need to pay Customs duty on ₹2,00,000 less ₹75,000, i.e. ₹1,25,000," Surana explained.

"The duties of Customs would include a Basic Customs Duty of 15%, a Surcharge of 10% of BCD, i.e. 1.5%, and GST on top of this at 18% of the landed cost. This works out to effective taxes of 37.47% and nearly ₹47,000 more on taxes alone," Surana said.

However, numbers may still favour the traveller, even after paying customs duty.

A base-model iPhone Duo bought in the US for about ₹1.90 lakh would attract duty on roughly ₹1.15 lakh of excess value, which is around ₹43,000 at the effective rate, taking the landed cost to about ₹2.33 lakh, which is still well below the ₹2,99,900 Indian price. But that is before the air fare, and before local taxes abroad.

The US prices considered for calculation here exclude state sales tax of 5-10%. However, buyers in some of the states in the US pay none. UAE prices already include 5% VAT, and tourists may be able to claim a VAT refund on departure.

"In addition to the Customs and GST, one aspect that also makes the iPhone Duo more expensive is the high costs of transportation," Surana noted.