India hikes gold import duty 9pp to 15%; jewellery demand seen denting 5-10%
Government reverts gold import duty to pre-July 2024 levels of 15% (18% effective with GST) to curb forex outflows after FY26 imports hit $71.98bn. IBJA flags 5-10% demand hit, pressuring Tanishq, Kalyan and Malabar at the till even as paper gold proxies like GoldBees and ICICI Pru Gold ETF rally 5.7-5.9%.
What happened
Government of India · India hiked gold import duty 9pp to 15% (18% effective with GST), reverting to pre-July 2024 levels to curb forex outflows. IBJA estimates
Key facts
- duty hiked 9pp to 15%
- effective tax 18% with GST
- gold ETFs +5.7-5.9%
- MCX gold futures ₹1.62 lakh/10gm
- GoldBees AUM ₹55,700 cr
- India imports ~700 tonnes/year
- gold imports FY26 $71.98 bn
- 5-10% demand dent estimated
Why this matters
Accelerate bullion-banking partnerships and digital gold/ETF distribution tie-ups to hedge physical jewellery softness while smaller unorganised players buckle under the duty shock.