The commerce ministry's arm DGFT on Monday issued a notification to align India's import policy schedule with changes made in the Customs Tariff schedule through the Budget 2025, especially for precious metals. This alignment ensures consistency between customs duties and import regulations.
The budget introduced new harmonised system codes for key items like gold dore, silver dore, and platinum containing at least 99% platinum.
Separate codes for gold and silver dore help customs track semi-processed forms of these metals, which are sometimes used to bypass higher duties on refined gold and silver.
A more complex issue involved platinum alloys. Under World Customs Organisation rules, any item containing even 1% platinum could be declared as a platinum alloy.
Think tank GTRI said some importers used this loophole to bring in products that were 99% gold from Dubai, labelling them as platinum alloy to take advantage of lower duties under the India-UAE free trade agreement.
"To block this misuse, the government in the Budget introduced a new HS code specifically for platinum containing 99% or more pure platinum," Global Trade Research Initiative said.
Only this category qualifies for duty benefits under the UAE trade pact.
Imports under other platinum compositions were restricted. This effectively closed the route for importing gold disguised as platinum.
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