Nirmala Sitharaman’s information – Import duty on gold not to be removed immediately!
Posted on: 11/Sep/2014 3:36:08 PM
Central Commerce Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that there are no immediate government plans to reduce the on gold import.
The mister informed that it is not right to establish that smuggling of gold had been on the rise only because of the import duty on gold. The current deficit(CAD) has come down considerably due to the import duty. Hence, there are no immediate plans to reduce this import duty.
The previous UPA government raised the import duty on gold by 10% in 2013 in order to reduce the deficit. There was severe objection from several fronts including the jewellers.
They felt all workers employed in jewellery making will be affected and there would be rise in gold smuggling. Hence, they demanded that the import duty to be reduced if not removed.
This recent announcement about no change in gold import duty has gently affected that jewellery traders.
2441 cases of gold smuggling registered!
Because of the import duty, during the financial year 2012-2014, only 650 tons of gold were imported. In the previous financial year 2012-2013, 845 tons of gold were imported.
The security officials have informed that there has been a rise in gold smuggling because of the import duty.
In the financial year 2011-2012, 500 cases were registered. In 2012-2013, there were 859 cases. For the financial year 2013-2014, 2441 cases of gold smuggling have been registered.
