Thwarting hopes of any early easing in restrictions to the gold imports, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has barred nominated banks and agencies from importing the precious metal in excess of their entitlements in first or second lot under the 80:20 schemes. As per RBI’s latest notification, import of gold in the third lot onwards should be lesser of the two-five times the export for which proof has been submitted or quantity of gold permitted to a nominated agency in the first or second lot.
Previously, the government under the 80:20 scheme in August 14, 2013, allowed nominated agencies to import gold, provided that 20 per cent of the inward shipment will be exported and the permission to import the next lot was granted only on the fulfillment of these export obligations.
However, in case of advance authorization (AA) and duty free authorization (DFIA) for gold import issued before August 14, 2013, RBI underscored that the 80:20 rule was not applicable for units in Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Export Oriented Units (EoUs), Premier and Star Trading Houses.
Earlier, the government in order to contain rising gold import, had hiked import duty on gold thrice in 2013 to a total of 10%. While, the RBI rolled out certain restrictions, including the 80:20 scheme for imports.