The
government has hiked the import tariff value on gold to USD 445 per 10
grams from at USD 433 per 10 gram earlier.
However,
the import tariff value -- the base price at which customs duty is determined
to prevent under-invoicing -- in case of silver has been reduced to USD 694 per
kg from USD 699 per kg earlier, a notification by the Central Board of Excise
and Customs said.
The
tariff value is revised on a fortnightly basis after analysing the global price
trend. Gold is the second largest import
item for India after petroleum. The
government had 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.
According
to the jewellers body, total gold imports are expected to be not more than 550
tonnes this fiscal due to these restrictions, from 845 tonnes in the last
fiscal. The Commerce Ministry has asked the Finance Ministry to relax curbs on
gold imports.