Gold import curbs to be reviewed by March end: Chidambaram

Faced with intense pressure to relax gold import curbs, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the restrictions will be reviewed by March end.
"I am confident that by the end of this (financial) year we will be able to revisit some of the restrictions on gold import but we will do so only when we are absolutely sure that we have a firm grip on the current account deficit," he said while addressing tax officials at the Customs Day here.
While admitting that the curbs have led to an increase in gold smuggling into the country, the Minister said these restrictions were necessary to contain the current account deficit (CAD), which touched a record high of USD 88.2 billion in 2012-13.

The CAD in the current fiscal is expected to soften significantly to USD 50 billion.
Gold imports, which had peaked to 162 tonnes in May, came down to 19.3 tonnes in November after the government hiked import duty thrice in 2013, taking it to 10 per cent.
Besides, the Reserve Bank has also linked imports of the precious metal to exports amid a widening CAD and depreciation of the rupee.

The imports in December was a "little higher" than in November, Finance Secretary Sumit Bose told reporters.
Chidambaram said there has been about 1-3 tonnes of gold smuggled into the country every month following the restrictions imposed on shipment last year.

"I know gold smuggling has increased... But the restrictions on gold import were absolutely necessary because it is these restrictions which have brought down gold import which in April and May had crossed 300 tonnes.
"If we had not imposed restrictions, there was no way we could have managed balance of payments or the CAD," he said.
With the clamour for a duty cut on gold imports growing, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had last week written to Commerce Ministry to take appropriate action on the demands of gems and jewellery exporters to reduce import duty and relax 80:20 rule for import of the metal.