What is corporate gifting? How it works for Indian companies
What corporate gifting means, the income tax and GST rules Indian buyers meet, with their sources and CA caveats, and how a first order runs, with a worked example.
Corporate gifting is a company buying gifts in bulk for its employees, clients or partners, often with its logo, for an occasion or a milestone. In India, income tax and GST rules apply to some of it, so a first order takes a little more thought than a shopping list.
This guide gives you the plain definition, the rules with their sources, and how an order actually runs. You can browse examples in our full catalogue as you read.
What corporate gifting covers
Corporate gifting covers three groups: your staff, your clients and your partners. The difference between it and a personal gift is scale. One design goes to many people, usually with your company's name on it, and the rules treat some of those gifts differently.
Companies give at festivals, at the year end, when someone joins and when a client relationship reaches a milestone. Our guide to a year of employee gifts walks through those moments, and our comparison of gift item types shows what you can buy.
What rules apply to corporate gifts in India?
Five rules are worth knowing before a first order. Treat this table as a starting point, not tax advice.
| Situation | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Gift to an employee, income tax | A yearly limit of ₹15,000 for tax-free gifts, vouchers and tokens from an employer to each employee, since 1 April 2026 | KPMG |
| Gift from an employer to an employee, GST | Gifts up to ₹50,000 a year are not treated as a supply under GST | CGST Act, Schedule I |
| Input tax credit on goods given as gifts | Companies generally cannot claim it, and a GST invoice does not mean you can claim it | CBIC Circular 92/11/2019-GST |
| A hamper sold at one price | It can be a mixed supply, taxed at the rate of its highest-rated item | CGST Act, section 8(b) |
| Gifts to business contacts | Tax rules can also apply to gifts to business contacts | Ask your CA |
Ask your CA before you rely on any of these for your own company. How the hamper rule applies to a given box is a CA question too.
What the ₹15,000 tax-free limit says
The limit is per person, per tax year, and it isn't per occasion. From 1 April 2026, the Income-tax Rules, 2026 set a yearly limit of ₹15,000 for tax-free gifts, vouchers and tokens from an employer to each employee (KPMG, 2026). The limit counts every such tax-free gift to one person across the tax year, not each occasion (Mint, 2026).
Sources word the limit in two ways. KPMG says the yearly total of tax-free gifts must not exceed ₹15,000, while Mint reports the rule as a total below ₹15,000.
Sources also differ on what is taxed above the limit: only the excess, or the whole value. Ask your CA before one person's tax-free gifts reach ₹15,000 in a year. Our guide to the tax rules in detail goes further, and a written gifting policy keeps the numbers in one place.
How much should a company spend?
No rule sets a spend, so the number is yours to choose. The tax-free limit is a ceiling for tax, not a target. Our guide to setting a budget per person shows how to work it out from your headcount.
How it works on a Swagloop order
A Swagloop order runs from your enquiry to a proof, then your approval, then dispatch. We usually work with 40 units per design. If you need fewer, tell us and we'll work something out. The clock starts when you approve the artwork.
- You pick the items and send your logo. Tell us the quantity and whether it goes to one address or many.
- We send a proof. We send a proof or order summary for you to approve before production starts.
- You approve it. Check it line by line. Confirmation means you've confirmed the order and approved the artwork.
- We ship. Orders ship within 12 to 14 working days of order confirmation, from our only warehouse, in Dwarka, New Delhi. We ship anywhere in India, to one address or to each recipient.
- The gifts arrive. After dispatch, allow up to 3 working days in Delhi NCR and up to 6 working days elsewhere in India.
Every order comes with a GST invoice. Our team takes a year-end break, and nothing ships in that window.
Confirm your order and artwork at least 5 weeks before the gifts must arrive, or 6 weeks if those weeks include 24 December to 3 January. For the North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and the islands, ask us for a date first.
An example first order
Here's what one first order could look like: a glass tumbler for 200 staff and a boxed set for 100 clients. Two designs, each well past 40 units, make one order. For the current price, open the product page or ask us for the catalogue.
| Line | For | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Solara Glass Tumbler with Bamboo Lid | Staff | 200 |
| Cork Luxe Premium 6-in-1 Eco Gift Set | Clients | 100 |
| MDF Magnetic Box for the sets | Clients | 100 |
| Whole order | Both | 300 gifts |
The tumbler comes to around ₹550 a head, and the boxed set to around ₹1,900 a head. So the whole order of 300 gifts comes to about ₹3 lakh, and that leaves out GST, branding and shipping.
Other items in this range include the Joe Organizer, the OHIO Laptop Sleeve and the Desk Trio Bundle. For a first order, I'd keep it to two designs, because it's easier to check two proofs than five.
Ready to price yours? Browse the catalogue, then ask us for a quote with your headcount and the date you need the gifts by. Tax and GST points are general information, so check them with your CA.
