Government raises gold import tariff value

New Delhi: Government has hiked the import tariff value on gold to USD 445 per 10 grams. The tariff value is revised on a fortnightly basis after analysing the global price trend.

It has also taken several measures to curb gold shipments to address the high current account deficit.  These measures include raising the import duty to 10 per  cent on the metal and also made it mandatory for traders to  export 20 per cent of the imported gold, thereby creating  supply crunch in the domestic market. 

The Central Board of  Excise and Customs also stated, ‘The import tariff value in case of silver has been reduced to USD 694 per kg, as compared to USD 699 per kg.’  

Gold is the second largest import item for India after petroleum. The total gold imports are  expected to be not more than 550 tonnes this fiscal due to several restrictions. The Commerce Ministry has asked the Finance Ministry to relax curbs on gold imports.