India’s foreign trade authority has introduced new regulations to close loopholes in precious metals imports and align customs duties with import policies.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued Notification No. 08/2025 on Monday, updating the country’s Import Policy Schedule under the ITC (HS) 2022 classification system.
The notification addresses significant gaps that allowed importers to circumvent higher duties on precious metals.
According to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), these changes will prevent the misuse of preferential trade arrangements, particularly under the India-UAE Free Trade Agreement.
The updates ensure consistency between the import regulations and tariff modifications introduced in Union Budget 2025.
A major concern involved platinum alloy classifications, where importers exploited international rules from the World Customs Organization that allowed any metal containing one percent platinum to be declared as a platinum alloy.
Some importers labelled products containing 99 percent gold as platinum alloy to benefit from lower FTA duties. The government has now created a new Harmonized System code specifically for platinum with 99 percent or higher purity, restricting FTA benefits to this category only.
The Budget 2025 had established new HS codes for critical items including gold dore, silver dore, and high-purity platinum.
By creating separate classifications for semi-processed forms like gold and silver dore, customs authorities can now better monitor and regulate these imports, particularly preventing misuse of lower duties intended for semi-processed metals.
The notification implements significant changes to gold and silver import regulations. For silver, unwrought silver with 99.9 percent or higher purity now faces import restrictions and can only be brought in through nominated agencies or qualified jewellers via the India International Bullion Exchange.
Silver bars with similar purity under a new code remain freely importable, subject to Reserve Bank of India regulations.
Gold import rules have been similarly restructured, with certain unwrought and semi-manufactured forms being deleted or reclassified.
Gold with 99.5 percent or higher purity is now restricted to imports through nominated agencies, qualified jewellers via the bullion exchange, or India-UAE Tariff Rate Quota holders. Gold dore imports are limited to licensed refineries under an Actual User condition.
The regulatory changes are expected to enhance transparency in precious metals trade, reduce misuse of bilateral trade agreements, and align India’s import framework with the latest customs tariff modifications.
These measures represent a comprehensive approach to closing regulatory gaps that had been exploited in the precious metals import sector.
