Govt hikes import tariff on gold and silver

The government on Monday hiked import tariff value on gold and silver marginally to $414 per 10 grams and $577 per kg, respectively, taking into account global trends.

For the last fortnight, the tariff value on imported gold was fixed at $410 per 10 grams and on silver it was $576 per kg.

The import tariff value is the base price at which the customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing. It is normally revised on a fortnightly basis.

The change in tariff value of these precious metals has been notified by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, an official statement issued by the Finance Ministry said.

In the global market, gold prices ruled steady on Monday due to a strong US dollar. Spot gold was unchanged at $1,276.16 an ounce, while the US gold futures were little changed at $1,277.10.

In the domestic market, gold prices drifted lower by Rs 110 to Rs 30,590 per 10 gram in the national capital, while silver prices were ruling steady at Rs 42,700 per kg.

The country's gold imports have declined by 10.3% to $1.80 billion in September this year from $2 billion in the year ago period due to sliding prices of the precious metal in both global and domestic markets.

The imports of the metal have been declining since February this year.

India is the world's largest gold consumer and imports a sizeable chunk of its total annual consumption of around 900-1,000 tonnes.