Government Sharply Corrects 'Unusual' November Gold Import Data

The government on Wednesday sharply corrected the "unusual" surge it saw in November gold import data, that had caused trade deficit to spike to a record.

The import value of gold in the month of November has been revised downward from $14.8 billion to $9.8 billion, according to data from the Commerce Ministry's Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics.

The earlier figure was erroneous due to a calculation error, with double counting in warehouses following a change in methodology in July likely to have been the cause. The Commerce Ministry has not issued a formal statement on the matter.

The amended data on gold imports from January to November 2024 is "well below the annual average of 800 tonnes," said Vipul Shah, Chairman at Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council.

The total for January to November has also been corrected from 796 tonnes to 664 tonnes, with October's figure being reduced to 58 tons from 97 earlier and November's figure reduced from 170 tons to 117 tons.

"This is encouraging as the reduction of import duty on gold has seen a substantial shift of imports from the grey market to official channels. The export of gold jewellery is expected to cross the $12 billion mark in 2025, showing robust growth in very trying times," Shah added.

At the routine monthly trade data briefing held on Dec. 16, data had shown that India's merchandise trade deficit widened to a record high of $37.8 billion in November, led by a jump in gold imports. In December 2024, on noticing the unusual surge, the DGCIS had taken up detailed examination of the gold import data and reconciliation had been taken up with the data received by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.