Gold duty hike to 15% squeezes jewellers; Titan, Kalyan pivot to exchange schemes and lighter karats
India's import duty raise pushed gold to ₹1,65,470/10g, with industry flagging a 5-10% demand drop. Titan (+0.8%), Senco (+4.08%) and Bluestone (+2.05%) held up on adaptation plays, while Kalyan slipped 1.77%. Jewellers are leaning on exchange programmes and lower-karat SKUs as PM Modi urges deferred purchases to conserve forex.
What happened
India hiked gold/silver import duty to 15%; jewellers like Titan, Kalyan pivot to exchange schemes and lower-karat products. Industry expects 5-10% demand drop;
Key facts
- import duty 15%
- Titan +0.8%
- Kalyan -1.77%
- Senco +4.08%
- Bluestone +2.05%
- gold ₹1,53,980-1,54,090/10g to ₹1,65,470
- jewellery biz down 5-7%
- demand down 10%
- capital gains 12.5%
- GST 3%
- making charges 5%
- gold imports $72bn FY26
- 9.3% of imports
- seizures 2,600kg/3,005 cases FY25 vs 4,971.68kg/6,599 cases FY24
Why this matters
The 10% demand contraction and PM's deferral nudge open a window to acquire regional jewellers struggling with working-capital strain or to lock in exchange-platform tech partnerships at compressed valuations.