A client gift that has to be declared, returned or refused is worse than no gift — it creates work for the person you were trying to thank. Most of the difficulty is not taste, it is their policy, and policies vary enormously between a family business, a listed company, a bank and anything touching government.
This page is about avoiding the awkwardness. It is not legal advice, and where a threshold matters you should ask rather than guess.
Check before you choose
Ask their assistant, not them. “Does your office have a policy on gifts from vendors?” is a normal, unembarrassing question to put to an EA, and it gets a straight answer.
Assume a value limit exists. Many companies set one. Nobody is offended by a gift comfortably under a limit; plenty of people are inconvenienced by one over it.
Assume it may need declaring. If it does, keep it small enough that declaring is trivial rather than a conversation.
Send it to the office, not the home. A gift arriving at a client’s house is a different thing from one arriving at their desk, and in a regulated sector it is a problem.
What tends to cause trouble
| Usually fine | Often restricted |
|---|---|
| Modest, clearly under a limit | Anything expensive |
| Consumable, shared with the team | Anything personal to them |
| Sent to the office | Sent to a home address |
| Given openly | Given privately |
| Company to company | Individual to individual |
| Around a known occasion | With a live tender or renewal |
That last row matters most. A gift arriving while a contract is being decided reads differently from the same gift at Diwali, however it was meant. If a decision is in progress, wait until it is not.
Formats that travel safely
Something shared with their team. A gift the whole office can use is rarely a compliance problem, because it is not personal to one individual.
Something modest and made. A printed record of a project you did together is inexpensive, obviously not a bribe, and specific to the working relationship rather than to them personally. Ours start at ₹270 for thirty prints and ₹499 for an 8-page book.
Your packaging, their content. Branded on the box, about the work inside. That reads as a professional courtesy rather than a personal favour.
Sectors where the answer is usually no
Government, banking and financial services, healthcare procurement, and anything under an active tender. In those, the safe default is a card and nothing else — and nobody will think worse of you for it.
If you are unsure which category a client falls into, that uncertainty is itself the answer.
The one that goes wrong most often
Gifting an individual rather than the company.
A bottle sent to one person’s home in December is a personal gift from you to them. The same value spent on something the team shares, delivered to the office, addressed to the company, is a business courtesy. The money is identical; the category is not, and it is the category that policies are written about.
What we can help with
An invoice naming the company rather than the individual, delivery to an office address, and a gift modest enough not to create a problem. Flat ₹70 per address, 5 to 14 days from order to doorstep, 5 to 12 to Delhi NCR.
What we cannot do is tell you your client’s policy — and any supplier who assures you a gift is “always fine” has not read it either.
Frequently asked
Is there a legal limit on client gifts in India? Company policies vary far more than law does, and the practical limit is whatever their policy says. Ask their assistant rather than guessing.
Should I send a client gift to their home or office? The office, in almost every case. A gift arriving at a home address is personal rather than professional, and in regulated sectors that is a real problem.
What is a safe client gift? Something modest, shared with their team, and specific to the work you did together rather than to them personally.
When should I not send anything? During a live tender or contract renewal, and in government, banking or healthcare procurement unless you know the policy allows it.
Can you invoice the company rather than the individual? Yes — give us the entity name and GSTIN before the order, and the invoice names the company.
Part of our guide to gifting for large teams. See also: GST, invoicing and corporate gift procurement and wedding planner gifting.
For teams and bulk orders: Corporate & bulk gifting · Photo magazines from ₹499
Also asked: Will you sign an NDA for private photos?