- By Aditya Pratap Singh
- Wed, 13 May 2026 10:17 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Gold Import Duty Hike News: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to avoid buying gold for a year to tackle the impact of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the Finance Ministry on Wednesday hiked import duties on gold and silver to 15 per cent from 6 per cent. The move is aimed at curbing inbound shipments of precious metals amid a rising import bill.
The Prime Minister had earlier called for curbs on gold purchases to save foreign exchange. The Finance Ministry had issued a notification increasing the Social Welfare Surcharge (SWS) and Agricultural Infrastructure Development Cess (AIDC) with effect from May 13.
The tariff hike will increase the overall customs duty on gold to 15 per cent.
Gold Import Was At an All-Time High IN FY25-26
India's gold imports rose by over 24 per cent to an all-time high of US$ 71.98 billion in 2025-26. However, in terms of volume, exports declined by 4.76 per cent to 721.03 tonnes in 2025-2.
Gold rose from $76,617.48 per kg in FY2025 to $99,825.38 per kg in FY2026.
Why The Import Duty Was Raised
Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran said on Tuesday that the ongoing crisis in West Asia is a 'direct balance of payments stress test', which will have a direct impact on inflation, current account and exchange rates.
The Balance of Payments (BoP) is the difference between the inflow and outflow of foreign exchange in a country over a period of time.
On Tuesday, the Indian rupee fell to a record low of 95.63 against the US dollar.
On Sunday, Modi appealed for saving foreign exchange, reducing fuel consumption, postponing gold purchases, travelling abroad and other measures to save foreign exchange in view of the West Asia crisis.
Earlier, the government reduced the customs duty on gold to 6 per cent in the 2024-25 budget to boost the domestic gems and jewellery industry, curb illegal smuggling, and reduce local prices.
How It Will Impact Common Citizens
A hike in import duty will have a direct impact on the end consumer, as it would further fuel the rise in gold prices for all purity levels in the domestic retail market.
India is the world's second-biggest gold consumer after China, and the imports are largely driven by the jewellery industry, meaning that upon the customs duty hike, the jewellery cost would go up. This will eventually hit the pocket of the end consumer or common citizens buying gold.
Also Read: Gold, Silver Jewellery To Become Costlier As Govt Hikes Import Duty To 15% After PM Modi's Appeal
Gold Rate Today
The price of 10 grams of gold in the national capital rose by Rs 1,500 (about 1 per cent) to Rs 1,56,800 on Tuesday, up from Rs 1,55,300 on Monday. Silver prices also rose by Rs 12,000 (4.53 per cent) to Rs 2,77,000 per kilogram.
In the international market, spot gold prices fell by $42.33 (1 per cent) to $4,692.64 per ounce, while silver prices fell by 3.04 per cent to $83.49 per ounce.
What Did PM Modi Say?
Addressing a Telangana BJP rally in Hyderabad, he suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro rail services in cities, carpooling, increasing use of electric vehicles (EVs), using railway services for parcel transport and working from home to save foreign exchange in the wake of the West Asian crisis.
(With Inputs From PTI)