In 2006, Indians spent close to $800 million abroad. That’s a huge amount, and it’s only likely to increase. The big question that’s being debated among bankers and tax experts is whether what an individual spends abroad falls within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) stipulation on foreign remittances.

There is still no clarity on this issue. The reason why this issue gets more contentious now is that the earlier limit of $5,000 that one could carry abroad as cash has been increased to $25,000. Individuals, however, don’t seem to be as hassled about the larger implications of spending abroad.

They continue to swipe plastic with abandon at duty-free shops and bargain basements in the US, Europe, Singapore and Dubai. Industry sources estimate that of the $800 million spent abroad last year, $300 million was spent in the US, $200 million in countries of the European Union, and $100 million each in the West Asia and Asia-Pacific region.

The major credit card companies say that the most popular spending destinations, judging by the amount of plastic swiped, were Singapore, Thailand, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia and France.

The US and the UK are among the more expensive destinations, while countries in South-east Asia and West Asia are among the cheapest. Judging by credit card spending, laptops, digital cameras, MP3 players, single malts, chocolates and designer wear are among the most popular picks.

Experts say that much of this spending is split along traditional gender lines, although this is slowly changing. It seems likely that once the confusion about whether spending comes under the RBI’s stipulation is cleared, more travellers will be ready and willing to spend even more abroad, adding big-ticket goods to their already laden shopping bags.