India triples gold-silver import duty to 15%, jewellery retailers face festive-season cost shock
Centre raised effective import duty on gold and silver from 11% to 15% (basic duty 5%→10%, AIDC 1%→5%) and platinum to 15.4%, defending a record-low rupee at 95.71/USD as forex reserves slid $38B to $691B. Jewellery chains face margin and demand hit ahead of wedding and festive season; FY26 gold imports already up 24.1% to $71.97B.
What happened
Government of India · India tripled effective import duty on gold and silver to 15% (from 11%) and platinum to 15.4%, aiming to curb non-essential imports and
Key facts
- Gold/silver duty raised from 5% to 10%
- AIDC raised from 1% to 5%
- Total effective import duty 15%
- Platinum duty 15.4% from 6.4%
- 3% IGST on precious metals
- Rupee at 95.71/USD
- Forex reserves $691 billion, down $38 billion
- FY26 gold imports $71.97 billion, up 24.1%
- Gold volumes 721.04 tonnes vs 757.09 tonnes
Why this matters
Distressed regional jewellers and smaller bullion-dependent chains become acquisition targets over the next two quarters as working-capital strain from the duty hike forces consolidation.