India hikes gold, silver import duty to 15%; UAE CEPA route tightened to 14% from May 2026
Duty on gold and silver raised from 6% to 15% (platinum 15.4%), while the concessional UAE CEPA TRQ rate moves from 5% to 14% effective May 13, 2026. Move targets forex conservation and CAD relief, with estimated import savings of $6-9bn and demand compression of 50-60 tonnes a year.
What happened
Government of India · India sharply raised gold and silver import duty to 15% (platinum 15.4%) and tightened UAE CEPA concessional route to 14%, aiming to curb
Key facts
- 15% gold/silver duty (from 6%)
- 15.4% platinum duty (from 6.4%)
- 14% CEPA TRQ gold duty (from 5%)
- effective May 13, 2026
- UAE gold bar imports $16.5bn in 2025 vs $2.9bn 2022
- UAE share 28% vs 7.9%
- demand cut 50-60 tonnes/yr
- import savings $6-9bn
- Piramal estimate $2.5bn / ₹23,750 cr FY27
Why this matters
Accelerate M&A and JV talks with UAE-based refiners or TRQ-licensed importers before the May 2026 cutoff, and evaluate domestic recycling/refining bolt-ons to offset the duty step-up.