Employee Gifting · September 14, 2026 · 9 min read
Farewell Gift for a Colleague: What to Give on a Last Day (India, 2026)
Farewell gift ideas for colleagues and managers at ₹500–₹5,000, pooled-gift etiquette, what to write on the card, and how HR can run a standard employee exit kit that keeps alumni warm.
By Manjitt S Chawla, Head of Growth, Corpokit
Farewell gifts are the hardest office gift to get right. The budget is improvised, the deadline is the last day, and the gift is opened in front of everybody. Get it wrong and it is an awkward photo. Get it right and it sits on someone's shelf for a decade.
The pattern is consistent: people keep farewell gifts that carry a name, a date, or the handwriting of the people they worked with. They quietly discard generic, logo-heavy items — which is exactly what a rushed last-minute order produces.
This guide covers what to give a departing colleague at each budget, how pooled gifts should work, what to write, and — for HR teams — how to standardise an employee exit kit so nobody has to improvise at 5pm on a Friday. For the wider list, see our office gift ideas guide.
How much to spend — and who pays
From one colleague (₹500–₹1,000). You worked together closely. Something small and specific, given privately rather than at the group send-off.
Pooled from the team (₹800–₹2,000). The standard case. Collect a flat amount per person — ₹150–₹250 works for most teams — and keep contributions optional and anonymous. Nobody should feel audited.
Departing manager or a long tenure (₹2,500–₹5,000). Higher tenure earns permanence: an engraved piece, a quality pen, a framed memento or a premium folio.
Company-funded exit gift (₹1,200–₹3,000). Run by HR as a standard kit for anyone leaving on good terms, usually above a tenure threshold such as two years.
One rule that saves a lot of trouble: the team's pooled gift and the company's exit gift should be different things. A duplicate looks careless.
Farewell gift ideas that hold up
Personalised keepsakes. Engraved metal pen with joining and leaving dates ₹700–₹2,500. Engraved desk nameplate or paperweight ₹600–₹1,800. Framed team photo ₹500–₹1,200. Custom caricature or illustrated portrait ₹800–₹2,000. A signed hardbound book where everyone writes a page ₹600–₹1,500 — consistently the most kept item in this list.
Useful for the next job. Leather or vegan-leather document folio ₹700–₹2,000. Laptop sleeve ₹300–₹700. Laptop backpack ₹900–₹2,400. Organiser diary with pen ₹450–₹950. See bags and accessories and notebooks and diaries.
Carry-home and desk. Desk plant in an engraved pot ₹250–₹600. Insulated flask ₹500–₹1,000 — see drinkware. Bluetooth speaker ₹800–₹2,200.
Consumable and experience. Dry-fruit or chocolate hamper ₹600–₹1,500. Restaurant or coffee voucher ₹500–₹2,000. A curated mini-hamper mixing a keepsake with something edible ₹900–₹2,000 — the safest pooled-gift format when the team does not know the person's taste well.
Avoid. Large company logos, alcohol, perfume, unsized clothing, religious items and anything that suggests the office is glad they are going. Humour in a farewell gift should live on the card, not on the gift.
The card matters more than the gift
Almost every study of workplace recognition says the same thing: specific, personal acknowledgement beats material value. A farewell card is free and does most of the emotional work.
Write specifics, not adjectives. "Thanks for rewriting the Q3 deck at 1am when the client moved the meeting" outperforms "all the best for your future endeavours" by a distance.
Get everyone to sign, including quiet colleagues and cross-team contacts. Circulate it a day early, not during the send-off.
Keep it forward-looking. Congratulate the move; do not editorialise about the company.
Add contact details. A farewell card with personal phone numbers and LinkedIn handles turns a goodbye into a network.
For HR — standardise the employee exit kit
Offboarding is the most neglected gifting moment in Indian companies, and the cheapest one to fix. Former employees refer candidates, return as boomerang hires, and talk about you on Glassdoor and LinkedIn.
Define the kit and the trigger. For example: anyone resigning in good standing with 2+ years of tenure gets a ₹1,500 kit; 5+ years gets ₹3,000 with an engraved piece.
Keep stock on the shelf. Order engraved-ready keepsakes at MOQ 25 and personalise on demand — engraving adds 5–8 working days, and exits rarely give you that notice.
Contents that work. A keepsake with tenure dates, a handwritten note from the reporting manager, a quality notebook or folio, and an alumni card with the referral policy and rejoining contact.
Mind the tax line. Gifts in kind to employees are exempt up to ₹5,000 per employee per financial year under Rule 3(7)(iv); above that the excess is a taxable perquisite. Vouchers and cash are treated as salary. GST is charged at the item's HSN rate and input tax credit on gifts is blocked under Section 17(5)(h).
Delivery. Where the exit is remote or the last day is on notice buyout, ship to the home address — confirm it in writing during offboarding. Corpokit dispatches exit and recognition kits across Delhi NCR, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and Manesar, and pan-India. The same logic runs in reverse at day one — see welcome kits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good farewell gift for a colleague in India?
An engraved pen with joining and leaving dates, a signed book or framed team photo, a leather folio or laptop sleeve for the next job, a desk plant, or a curated hamper. Pooled team gifts usually sit at ₹800–₹2,000.
How much should a team spend on a farewell gift?
₹800–₹2,000 pooled for a teammate and ₹2,500–₹5,000 for a departing manager or someone with long tenure. From one colleague individually, ₹500–₹1,000 is appropriate.
What should you not give as a farewell gift?
Avoid heavily logo-branded company merchandise, alcohol, perfume, clothing without a size check, religious items, and joke gifts that could read as a comment on their departure.
Should HR give a gift when an employee resigns?
Yes, for exits in good standing. A ₹1,200–₹3,000 exit kit with a keepsake and a handwritten manager note is a low-cost way to protect referrals, boomerang hiring and employer reputation.
Is a farewell gift from the company taxable for the employee?
Gifts in kind are exempt up to ₹5,000 per employee per financial year under Rule 3(7)(iv) of the Income-tax Rules. Amounts above that are taxable perquisites, and cash or vouchers are treated as salary.
How long does engraving take on a farewell gift?
Typically 5–8 working days. Because resignations rarely give that much notice, HR teams usually hold engraving-ready stock at MOQ 25 and personalise on demand.