The central government on Saturday curbed imports of certain silver products, moving them from the “free” to “restricted” category. According to an official notification, the restrictions are applicable to silver bars, effective immediately. The move comes as part of the government’s efforts to reduce precious metal imports in a bid to ease pressure on the country’s forex reserves from elevated oil prices. India meets more than 90 per cent of its oil requirement through imports.
The restrictions on silver follow the government’s recent move to tighten rules on gold imports.
This week, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) capped duty‑free gold imports under the Advance Authorisation scheme at 100 kilograms per licence while introducing stricter compliance, inspection and export‑performance conditions for future authorisations.
With that, new applicants will have to undergo mandatory physical inspection at their manufacturing facilities by concerned regional authorities before approval is granted. Authorities will verify the existence, operational capacity and manufacturing status of these units before granting the licence.
Earlier, import duty on the yellow and white metals was revised to 15 per cent from 6 per cent, in line with the government’s broader call to conserve forex reserves and protect the economy from rising global uncertainties linked to the West Asia crisis. Platinum imports will now attract a customs duty of 15.4 per cent, compared to the earlier 6.4 per cent.
The revised duty structure, effective May 13, covers jewellery findings, dore, coins and certain precious metal-related imports.
The duty hike reverses a key cut announced in Union Budget 2024-25, when customs duties on precious metals were lowered amid relatively stable macroeconomic conditions.
Separately, the Finance Ministry also updated customs duty rates for jewellery findings and related components. Gold and silver findings now attract a customs duty of 5 per cent, while platinum findings will face a duty rate of 5.4 per cent. The government defines findings as small jewellery components such as hooks, clasps, clamps, pins, catches and screw backs used to hold a complete piece or part of jewellery in place. These changes are aimed at ensuring greater clarity in trade classification and taxation of jewellery-related imports.
