Centre restricts silver imports days after hiking gold duty to 15%, squeezing jewellery retailers
DGFT moves silver to licence regime following gold customs duty hike from 6% to 15% and platinum to 15.4%. Tied to $38B forex drop and PM's austerity push. Tanishq, Kalyan, Malabar face higher input costs and inventory friction heading into wedding season.
What happened
Government of India · Centre restricts silver imports under licence regime, days after hiking gold customs duty from 6% to 15% and platinum to 15.4%. Move
Key facts
- 6% to 15% gold duty
- platinum 6.4% to 15.4%
- 3% IGST
- $38 billion forex drop
Why this matters
Window opens to acquire distressed regional jewellers facing inventory financing stress, and to lock bullion supply agreements with refiners holding licence quotas before competitors consolidate access.