The government today reduced the import tariff value of gold from USD
573 per 10 grams to USD 530 per 10 grams, while the value was kept
unchanged at USD 1,036 per kg for silver imports.
The tariff value, which is released fortnightly, is the base
price on which the customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing
and discourage import of gold to ease pressure on balance of payments.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) issued a notification yesterday in this regard, an official release said.
After crude oil, gold is the most imported commodity in India in terms of value.
Bullion traders and jewellers have opposed the recent hikes in
tariff value as it would hit demand as the increased costs have to be
passed on to consumers.
Early this year, the government had changed the duty structure on
gold and silver from specific to value-linked, making precious metals
more expensive.
The import duty on gold was fixed at 2 per cent of the value,
instead of the earlier rate of Rs 300 per 10 grams. On silver, the
import duty was pegged at 6 per cent, as against Rs 1,500 per kg
earlier.
India, the world's biggest consumer of gold, imported 967 tonnes of gold in 2011.
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