Gold duty hike tackles symptom, not cause: Nomura

The government's move to hike gold import tax will only shift gold shipments to 'unofficial channels', said Nomura.

"Therefore, in our view imposing import duty tackles the symptom, not the cause," Nomura said in a note.

Gold imports are likely to ease to $44 billion in 2013-14 from an estimated $48.3 billion in 2012-13 in value terms, marking a 0.2 percentage point drop, Nomura estimates.

Nomura says current account deficit could moderate to 4.3% of GDP in FY14 from an estimated 4.9% in FY13, "remaining above sustainable levels," due to high oil prices and continued domestic supply-side constraints that boost imports.