Govt hikes import duty on gold, silver; precious metals to become expensive

17 Jan 2012 Evaluate

The government has raised import duty on gold and silver exorbitantly to curb import of precious metals. In a rare decision, the government raised the import tax on gold to 2% of its value from a flat rate of Rs 300 ($5.8)/10 grams earlier. The import tax on silver has also been changed to 6% of its value from the earlier flat Rs 1,500 a kilogram. The import duty on gold comes to around Rs 540 per 10 grams now considering the base price of Rs 27,000 per 10 grams. Similarly, in silver total duty works out to nearly Rs 3,120 a kg considering the base price of Rs 52,000.

Earlier, when presenting the Budget 2009-10, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had increased import duty on gold bars from Rs 100 per 10 gram to Rs 200 per 10 gram, while duty on other forms of gold (excluding jewellery) was increased from Rs 250 per 10 gram to Rs 500 per 10 gram. The customs duty on silver was also increased from Rs 500 per kg to Rs 1,000 per kg. According to government notification, the ad-valorem rates of excise and customs on precious metals like gold, silver and platinum will come into effect from January 17, 2012. Diamonds, on the other hand will also attract an import duty of 2%.

India is the world's largest importer of gold jewellery, and the change in tax rates is likely to push up local prices. However, this move is not expected to bring down the demand for gold and silver since high prices have not deterred consumers from making a record purchase of 745.7 tonne jewellery last year. According to the estimates of World Gold Council (WGC), Indian government earned around Rs 2,836.6 crore in 2010 as an import duty on gold. In 2010, the import duty stood at Rs 30,900 per kg. In 2010, Indian consumers consumed approximately 963.1 tonne of gold priced at Rs 1.73 lakh crore, representing a y-o-y growth of around 66%.

This move is expected to help the government earn additional revenues and could also strengthen the rupee against the dollar. As per the changes, customs and excise duty will now be levied on the value of the precious metals instead of a fixed amount, meaning that the incidence of duty will move up with the rise in prices of the goods, thereby making them more expensive. Moreover, as per the finance ministry estimates, the increase in the duty is expected to fetch additional Rs 500-600 crore for the balance financial year.

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