Govt cuts import tariff value of gold, silver

Government on Monday slashed the import tariff value on gold and silver to USD 404 per ten grams and USD 635 per kg, respectively, taking into account the volatility in the global prices.

Import tariff value is the base price at which customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing. The tariff value is revised on a fortnightly basis after analysing the global price trend.

Till Sunday, the tariff value on imported gold was at USD 407 per ten grams, while on silver it stood at USD 663 per kg.

The notification in this regard has been issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), an official release said on Monday.

Besides precious metals, the tariff value on imported brass scrap has been cut to USD 3,959 per tonne from USD 3,995 per tonne, while those on crude soyabean oil has been reduced to USD 917 per tonne from USD 944.

Similarly, the tariff value on imported RBD palmolein has been reduced to USD 898 per tonne from USD 902, while that on imported crude palm oil has been slashed to USD 857 per tonne from USD 877.

In London, gold prices on Monday fell by 0.33 per cent to USD 1,241.80 per ounce, while silver dropped by 0.23 to USD 19.12 per ounce. Domestic gold and silver prices remained down following weak global price trend.

Gold is the second largest import item for India after petroleum. However, gold imports are expected to decline this year as government has taken several measures to curb shipments to address the high current account deficit.

According to the jewellers body, total gold imports may decline to below 500 tonnes this fiscal due to these restrictions, from 845 tonnes in the last fiscal.