No gold import duty cut now: Nirmala
12 Sept 2014 4:48 AM IST
‘I cannot say that gold smuggling has increased because of hike in import duty. Current account deficit has come down, but there is no thought to lower the import duty immediately,’ Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters here.
There have been demands for reduction in the levy on the precious metal as imports declined to 638 tonnes in financial year 2013-14 from 845 tonnes in the previous fiscal.
Following a sudden spurt in gold import at the beginning of 2013, the Government had hiked the import duty on the precious metal to 10 per cent in phases.
The Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had also imposed certain other restrictions on
its shipments, including linking of imports to exports to prevent outgo of the foreign exchange.
The restrictions are perceived to have increase instances of smuggling. The cases of gold smuggling had gone up in 2013-14 to 2,441. In 2012-13 and 2011-12 the number of such cases stood at 869 and 500 respectively.
High gold imports also pushed up the current account deficit as it rose to $88.2 billion or 4.7 per cent of GDP in 2012-13. Through import curbs, the CAD has been brought down to $32.4 billion or 1.7 per cent in 2013-14.
There have been demands for reduction in the levy on the precious metal as imports declined to 638 tonnes in financial year 2013-14 from 845 tonnes in the previous fiscal.
Following a sudden spurt in gold import at the beginning of 2013, the Government had hiked the import duty on the precious metal to 10 per cent in phases.
The Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had also imposed certain other restrictions on
its shipments, including linking of imports to exports to prevent outgo of the foreign exchange.
The restrictions are perceived to have increase instances of smuggling. The cases of gold smuggling had gone up in 2013-14 to 2,441. In 2012-13 and 2011-12 the number of such cases stood at 869 and 500 respectively.
High gold imports also pushed up the current account deficit as it rose to $88.2 billion or 4.7 per cent of GDP in 2012-13. Through import curbs, the CAD has been brought down to $32.4 billion or 1.7 per cent in 2013-14.
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