Government restricts silver imports days after gold duty hike
Importers will now need government licences to bring the metal into the country.
Days after raising customs duty on precious metals, the Centre on Saturday restricted silver imports and brought them under the licence regime.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade said the revised policy covers silver, including silver plated with gold and platinum, and takes effect immediately.
Importers will now need government licences to bring the metal into the country.
On March 13, the government hiked import duty on gold from 6% to 15%, hoping to check the drain on the country’s foreign exchange reserves that have fallen by $38 billion after the West Asia conflict began late February.
The import duty hike comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for austerity measures and appeal to citizens to reduce petroleum consumption, avoid non-essential foreign travel and gold purchases for a year as part of measures to help the country deal with global disruptions and challenges.
The effective import duty on platinum has also been increased to 15.4% from 6.4%.
Additionally, a 3% Integrated GST (IGST) will be payable on all imports of precious metals in addition to the basic customs duty and AIDC.
Days after raising customs duty on precious metals, the Centre on Saturday restricted silver imports and brought them under the licence regime.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade said the revised policy covers silver, including silver plated with gold and platinum, and takes effect immediately.
Importers will now need government licences to bring the metal into the country.
On March 13, the government hiked import duty on gold from 6% to 15%, hoping to check the drain on the country’s foreign exchange reserves that have fallen by $38 billion after the West Asia conflict began late February.
The import duty hike comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for austerity measures and appeal to citizens to reduce petroleum consumption, avoid non-essential foreign travel and gold purchases for a year as part of measures to help the country deal with global disruptions and challenges.
The effective import duty on platinum has also been increased to 15.4% from 6.4%.
Additionally, a 3% Integrated GST (IGST) will be payable on all imports of precious metals in addition to the basic customs duty and AIDC.
