India raises gold, silver tariffs to 15 pc to curb imports

The government on Wednesday sharply raised import duties on gold and silver to 15 per cent from 6 per cent, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to avoid buying gold for a year amid economic stress linked to the Iran war and pressure on foreign exchange reserves. The Centre imposed a 10 per cent basic customs duty along with a 5 per cent Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC), aiming to curb imports of the precious metals, narrow the trade deficit and support the rupee, which hit an all-time low of 95.75 per dollar.
Gold demand, particularly for investment purposes, has risen in India amid a recent rally in prices and negative returns from equities over the past year. Inflows into India's gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) surged 186% year-on-year in the March quarter to a record 20 metric tons, the World Gold Council said last month. India has been trying to curb gold imports in recent weeks and began levying a 3% integrated goods and services tax (IGST) on gold and silver imports, prompting banks to halt imports for more than a month.