Govt restricts import of gold jewellery
The government imposed restrictions on the import of gold jewellery and parts from all countries, except from its free-trade agreement (FTA) partner United Arab Emirates amid an ‘unusual surge’ in the inbound shipments.
According to a notification released by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), import of items such as finished products of gold jewellery — gold studded with pearls, diamonds, precious stones — and parts have been put under the “restricted” category from “free” category at present.
The jump in imports has been the sharpest in the case of gold jewellery parts that saw 30 times jump to $1.55 billion in FY24 from $51.51 million a year ago. The largest source of imports for the gold jewellery parts have been from the UAE ($1 billion), Indonesia (341.9 million), Tanzania (107.2 million), and Thailand ($35.9 million).
