Government raises import tariff on gold to USD 369

New Delhi: The government raised the import tariff value on gold to USD 369 per 10 grams taking strong cues from the global market.  The tariff value on silver was however reduced to USD 471 per kg. In the second fortnight of August, the import tariff value on gold was USD 363 per 10 grams and on silver it was USD 499 per kg. The import tariff value is the base price at which the customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing.

The tariff value is revised on a fortnightly basis. Globally, gold climbed 0.75 per cent to USD 1,142.90 an ounce and silver rose 0.03 per cent to USD 14.64 an ounce in London. In the domestic bullion market, gold today continued to rise for the third straight day and regained the Rs  27,000-mark by adding Rs 200 and closed at Rs 27,060 per 10 grams. Similarly, silver also rose by Rs 150 to Rs 35,150 per kg.    

The change in tariff value of the metals has been notified by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, said an official statement issued by the Finance Ministry. After declining in June, the country's gold imports jumped 62.2 per cent to USD 2.96 billion in July, as against USD 1.82 billion in the year-ago period, as per the government data.    

Gold is the second-largest import item for India after petroleum. Higher gold import bill adversely affects the country's current account deficit, which occurs when value of import of goods and services is more than exports.