1 month ago
Mumbai, July 25
The country’s silver and platinum imports from the UAE, previously benefiting from concessionary duties under a trade agreement, have ceased as New Delhi’s move to reduce import taxes eliminated the duty arbitrage that bullion dealers were exploiting, trade and government officials said.
The world’s second-biggest bullion consumer slashed import duties on gold and silver to 6% from 15%. After the reduction, there is no incentive to bring silver or platinum into India under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between India and the UAE, said Prithviraj Kothari, president of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association.
“Now that regular customs duty for silver is lower than the tax under the CEPA, nobody’s importing silver anymore.” Bullion dealers primarily imported silver from the UAE under the CEPA, as they only needed to pay an 8% import duty compared to the regular 15%.
This helped the UAE corner nearly half of India’s silver imports. — Reuters
