India places restrictions on certain gold jewellery import categories

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has issued a notification stating that it has restricted imports of certain gold jewellery categories. The specified fine jewellery items will now require a government permit unless they are imported under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the UAE.

Jewellery product categories listed in the Directorate General of Foreign Trade’s notice comprise gold jewellery studded with diamonds, pearls, and both precious and semi precious stones, the Economic Times reported. These items were previously in the ‘free’ category and, although accrued 15% import tax, did not need a specific government permit to import.
 
“However import under a valid India- UAE CEPA Tariff Rate Quota shall be permitted without restricted import authorisation,” read the Directorate General of Foreign Trade’s note, ET Bureau reported.  
 
One of the reasons for the Directorate General of Foreign Trade’s tightening of jewellery import restrictions could be the recent increase in imports of gold jewellery from Indonesia. India and Indonesia enjoy free trade under the India- ASEAN agreement.
 
Some industry reports show that gold articles were being imported into India from Indonesia but then melted down in India to create other jewellery articles, the Economic Times reported. Necessitating a government permit would discourage businesses from undertaking this activity.