India's Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has revised tariff values for key imported commodities, including gold, silver and edible oils, in line with fluctuating global prices and mounting pressure on India's import bill amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Under the latest amendment, gold in any form has been assigned a tariff value of $1,508 per 10 grams, while silver now carries a tariff value of $2,810 per kilogram. Crude palm oil has been valued at $1,205 per metric tonne, and crude soybean oil at $1,256 per metric tonne.
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The revisions come at a time when India is closely monitoring its trade deficit, foreign exchange reserves and imported inflation risks triggered by the ongoing West Asia crisis and rising crude oil prices. The tariff value mechanism is used by customs authorities to calculate import duties on sensitive commodities and is periodically adjusted to reflect prevailing international market rates.
The latest increase in tariff values for precious metals follows the Centre's recent move to sharply raise import duties on gold and silver to protect foreign exchange reserves and reduce non-essential imports. Earlier this week, India more than doubled customs duties on gold and silver imports from 6% to 15% amid concerns over the widening current account deficit and pressure on the rupee.
The government's concern stems largely from the economic fallout of the US-Iran conflict, which has disrupted global shipping routes and pushed up international energy prices. As one of the world's largest importers of crude oil and gold, India faces heightened vulnerability to rising import costs and currency depreciation.
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