Govt reduces import tariff value of gold to $458 per 10 gm

The government has reduced the import tariff value of gold to $458 per 10 gm and that of silver to $783 per kg following a decline in their global prices, but kept the import duty on the two precious metals unchanged at 10 per cent of the import tariff value.

The government had last week raised the import tariff value of gold to $461 per 10 gm from $432 per 10 gm earlier as prices of precious metals touched an all-time high last week. Simultaneously, the import tariff value of silver was also raised to $803 per kg from $697 per kg.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) on Monday issued a notification reducing the import tariff value of gold after gold prices registered losses for four successive days after a spike in gold prices to Rs34,000 per 10 gm last week.

Tariff value is the base price on which the customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing.

Gold prices are now ruling around Rs31,100 per 10 gm. Silver prices, however, are showing a firmer trend at Rs54,350 per kg.

The government also raised the tariff values of other major import items like crude palmolein and RBD palmolein to $879 a tonne and $882 per tonne, respectively. Similarly the tariff value of crude soyabean oil has been raised to $951 per tonne from $928 per tonne earlier.

India, the world's largest consumer of gold, imported 860 tonnes of gold in 2012.

Gold imports during the first four months of the current fiscal rose 87 per cent to 383 tonnes.