A reload looks like a small transaction and is priced like a new one. There are three costs in it and only one of them is usually quoted, which is why the second load on a trip often surprises people more than the first.
The three costs
- The exchange rate applied to the reload. This is the big one, and it is today's rate, not the rate you originally loaded at. If the rupee has weakened since, the reload is dearer per unit.
- A reload fee, typically a flat ₹100 to ₹300 per transaction.
- GST, on the deemed value under Rule 32(2)(b) plus 18% on the reload fee itself.
Why reloading in small amounts is expensive
The flat reload fee does not scale with the amount, so its percentage cost rises sharply as the load gets smaller. A ₹200 fee on a ₹1,00,000 reload is 0.2%. The same fee on a ₹10,000 reload is 2%, which is more than the exchange margin.
Practically: reload in meaningful amounts, not in dribs. Three reloads of ₹30,000 cost noticeably more than one of ₹90,000, for the same money on the card.
What it counts against
Every reload draws on your LRS limit for the financial year and counts towards the ₹10 lakh threshold above which TCS applies. A series of reloads across a long trip can quietly cross that line, so track the running total rather than treating each load as a fresh start.
Doing it from abroad
- 1Check before you fly how a reload is requested — an app, a portal, or someone in India acting for you.
- 2Confirm the turnaround. An hour and two working days are very different when you are standing somewhere without money.
- 3Ask whether fresh documents are needed. Usually not, if the original file is complete, but this is the thing that delays a reload.
- 4Keep a small buffer on the card. Reloading with a zero balance and a slow turnaround is the situation to avoid.
