Govt of India Hikes Import Duty on Gold,Platinum - Wednesday June 5,2013

In a desperate bid to rein in the widening current account deficit (CAD) owing to a spiralling demand for gold, the government late on June 5,2013 Wednesday raised the import duty on Gold by 2 % points to 8% from 6%

Also the import duty on platinum was increased from 6 % to 8 %

The hike in customs duty with immediate effect — the second in six months — has come a day after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took a number of steps to restrain the demand for gold for speculative and investment purposes and restrict its imports

Also the Govt of India raised the excise duty on gold ore from 5% to 7% following its decision to hike import duty on gold


Note

It may be recalled that the CAD — the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign currency mainly owing to higher imports and lower exports — touched a historic high of 6.7 of the GDP (gross domestic product) in the third quarter of 2012-13 ended December 2012