India's 15% bullion duty crashes gold demand to 7.5 tonnes in a fortnight, from 25 tonnes YoY
Effective 13 May 2026, India lifted bullion import duty to ~15% (BCD 5%→10% plus AIDC). IBJA data shows gold offtake collapsed to 7.5 tonnes in the fortnight to 27 May versus 25 tonnes a year earlier. The move follows FY26 gold-silver imports hitting $84bn (10.8% of merchandise imports) and an $28.4bn trade deficit, squeezing jewellers heading into the wedding tail.
What happened
India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) · India hiked effective import duty on gold and silver to ~15% from 13 May 2026, raising basic customs duty and
Key facts
- import duty raised to 15%
- BCD raised from 5% to 10%
- gold demand fell to 7.5 tonnes in 15 days vs 25 tonnes YoY
- FY26 gold/silver imports $84 bn (10.8% of merchandise imports)
- April 2026 gold imports up 81.7% YoY, silver up 157.2%
- trade deficit $28.4 bn
Why this matters
Distress among unorganized and mid-tier jewellers opens a 12-18 month window to acquire footprint, gold-loan books, or karigar capacity at compressed multiples before duty normalization.