Terms of Service

Last updated: September 12, 2026

1. What Smuggl is

Smuggl connects "shoppers" who want goods from Smuggl-approved overseas retailers — including duty-free — with "Smugglbears" — travellers already flying a route who are willing to carry items back for them. Smuggl is a marketplace and payment-facilitation platform; it does not sell, own, or ship any goods itself, and is not a customs broker, freight forwarder, or common carrier. Smuggl does not determine, negotiate, or guarantee customs duty, import tax, or delivery outcomes for any transaction — these are matters between the shopper and the Smugglbear, informed by the customs-duty estimate, pre-authorization hold, and after-delivery reconciliation process set out in Section 3.

References to "duty-free" on Smuggl — including in our marketing — describe where a product is sourced from: a retailer operating in a duty-free, customs-controlled zone. They are not a representation that any item is, or will remain, exempt from import duty once it reaches its destination. Whether duty is owed, and how much, depends on the destination country's own customs rules and the applicable duty-free allowance, as set out in Section 3.

2. Eligibility and accounts

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use Smuggl. You're responsible for the accuracy of the information on your account and for keeping your login credentials secure. Smuggl may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms, engage in fraud, or repeatedly fail to fulfil confirmed requests.

To keep in-person handoffs safe and trustworthy, we may require you to verify your identity — including a government-issued ID and a live selfie — through our identity-verification partner, Didit, before you can act as a Smugglbear or complete certain requests. See our Privacy Policy for what that involves.

3. Shoppers and Smugglbears

Smuggl is not an open marketplace for arranging carriage with strangers. A shopper can only see and request from Smugglbears within their own real personal network — a direct contact, or a contact of a contact (friends and friends-of-friends) — determined from the phone contacts and/or social connections you choose to sync. Smuggl does not match shoppers with Smugglbears who fall outside this network, and if you have no synced connections, you will not see any Smugglbears to request from.

As a shopper, you're requesting that another individual purchase and personally carry goods to you. Smuggl does not guarantee that any given item will be available, in stock, or delivered on the agreed timeline — availability depends entirely on the Smugglbear you're matched with.

As a Smugglbear, you're personally responsible for complying with all customs, duty, and import/export laws of every country you travel through or into, including declaring goods and paying any duty owed. Neither Smuggl nor the shopper is responsible for a Smugglbear's violation of customs, duty, or import/export law, and neither Smuggl nor the Smugglbear is responsible for a shopper's violation of applicable law in connection with a request. It is each user's own responsibility, disclaimed by Smuggl to the maximum extent permitted by law, to be familiar with and comply with all customs and import/export laws and regulations that apply to their own conduct on Smuggl. If the combined value of the items you are carrying, together with your own personal belongings, exceeds the applicable duty-free allowance, you are required to declare this at customs (using the Red Channel or equivalent declaration process, where applicable) and to pay any duty owed. Do not use the nothing-to-declare channel if you are carrying goods above the threshold. Smuggl provides customs-threshold information as a convenience; it is not legal or customs advice, and you remain solely responsible for compliance. You may not use Smuggl to carry any item that is illegal, restricted, or requires a permit in the origin or destination country, including but not limited to weapons, controlled substances, counterfeit goods, or items exceeding personal-duty-free allowances without proper declaration.

Before a shopper request can be confirmed, Smuggl will display an estimated customs duty exposure based on the declared value of the items and the destination country's current duty-free threshold. This estimate is provided for planning purposes only, is not legal or customs advice, and does not constitute a determination by Smuggl of the actual duty owed. Where a request includes multiple genuinely distinct items, Smuggl may suggest distributing individual items across more than one Smugglbear. This is only appropriate where each item is a separate, independent purchase — it may not be used to split what is functionally a single purchase or commercial quantity across Smugglbears to defeat a duty-free threshold. Each Smugglbear carrying part of such a request must independently and honestly declare the items they personally carry under their own individual duty-free allowance, without coordinating with other Smugglbears on the same request to obscure the total value being brought in. Smugglbears and shoppers are responsible for agreeing on how any duty or customs cost will be handled — including whether it is built into the request price. Where a Smugglbear's actual purchase cost, including any customs duty they personally paid at the border, exceeds the amount held under the pre-authorization hold, Smuggl's app will automatically generate a claim for the difference and a payment link for the shopper to pay it — this typically happens after purchase or delivery, once the actual amount is known, not only as a pre-agreed estimate. This claim payment is processed through the same third-party payment partner as the original order, the same way any other payment on Smuggl is. Smuggl does not itself determine, set, or remit any amount to a customs or tax authority on any user's behalf — the underlying duty is paid by the Smugglbear directly at the border, and this claim only reimburses that already-paid amount between the two users.

Declared value must reflect the actual purchase price of each item. Smuggl does not permit shoppers or Smugglbears to declare, or agree to declare, a value lower than the actual purchase price of an item, or to divide a single item into separate declarations, for the purpose of avoiding duty. Smuggl does not permit or facilitate the avoidance of customs duties or import restrictions in any form; all users must comply fully with the customs and import laws applicable to their transaction.

4. Payments and pre-authorization holds

Shopper payments are processed and placed on a pre-authorization hold by Smuggl's designated third-party payment partner until delivery is confirmed by both parties through the in-app handshake step. When you pay as a shopper, your card or other payment method details are entered directly on our payment partner's own hosted checkout page — Smuggl does not see or store your full card number. If you act as a Smugglbear, you provide your bank account number, IFSC code, and/or UPI ID directly to Smuggl so we can set up and route your payout through our payment partner; Smuggl stores this payout information as part of your account. Our current payment partner is disclosed in our Privacy Policy and may change from time to time.

Once a delivery is confirmed, the held funds are released to the Smugglbear, minus Smuggl's service fee. Refunds are available if a Smugglbear cancels, fails to deliver by the agreed deadline, or if a dispute is filed under Section 6.

5. Smuggl's fees

Smuggl charges a platform fee on completed transactions and offers an optional paid subscription tier ("Captain") with reduced fees and other benefits. The applicable fee for your specific request or subscription is always shown in-app before you confirm it, and may vary by market.

6. Disputes

If you receive an item that's wrong, damaged, or otherwise not as ordered, you can open a dispute in-app instead of releasing the handoff PIN. Disputes are resolved automatically: select a reason and submit, and a 100% refund is issued to your original payment method — the outcome doesn't vary by reason, and there is no manual case-by-case review, appeal, chargeback, or partial-refund process. A dispute applies per item, not per order — disputing one item only refunds that item, and the rest of the order proceeds normally.

Because every item is purchased new from one of Smuggl's whitelisted, verified retailers, a disputed item stays with the Smugglbear who carried it rather than being returned to Smuggl or the shopper. The Smugglbear receives no payout on that item and is free to keep it, gift it, or otherwise dispose of it as they choose; Smuggl does not broker, facilitate, or take a share in whatever they decide to do with it. Smuggl's automated determination on a dispute is final for purposes of the held funds, without prejudice to either party's other legal rights.

7. Prohibited conduct

• Requesting or carrying illegal, counterfeit, or prohibited goods, including but not limited to weapons, ammunition, and explosives; illegal drugs and other controlled substances; counterfeit or pirated goods; and any item requiring a government permit, license, or other special authorization that the requesting user does not hold
• Carrying any regulated item — including prescription medicines — without the documentation, age verification, or quantities required by the app and by applicable law, or above any limit Smuggl displays for the relevant destination
• Circumventing Smuggl's payment/pre-authorization-hold system to transact outside the platform
• Providing false identity, flight, or verification information
• Harassing, threatening, or discriminating against another user
• Using the platform for any purpose other than genuine personal shopping requests — requests must be for the shopper's own personal or household use, or a bona fide gift; commercial quantities or resale intent are not permitted, and Smuggl may reject or cancel a request that appears commercial in nature
• Declaring, or asking a Smugglbear to declare, a customs value lower than the actual purchase price of an item
• Dividing a single item into multiple declarations, or otherwise artificially fragmenting a purchase, for the purpose of avoiding duty

8. Limitation of liability

Smuggl is a platform connecting independent individuals; it does not control the conduct of shoppers or Smugglbears and is not liable for lost, damaged, delayed, or non-delivered goods, for customs seizures or penalties, or for disputes between users beyond the hold-resolution process above. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Smuggl's total liability for any claim is limited to the amount held under the pre-authorization hold for the transaction giving rise to that claim. This limitation of liability does not apply to claims arising from Smuggl's own fraud, willful misconduct, or gross negligence.

9. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of India, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these terms or your use of Smuggl is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of India.

10. Changes to these terms

Smuggl may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified in-app or by email before they take effect.

11. Contact

Questions about these terms: help@smuggl.in. Full contact details are on our Contact page.