The government has imposed a 100 kg limit on gold imports under the Advance Authorisation scheme, marking a significant shift from the previous unlimited import policy. According to the latest Commerce Ministry notification issued on May 14, 2026, the DGFT announced that 'AA for import of gold shall be issued, subject to a maximum remissible quantity of 100 kilograms' in a public notice. This change affects the scheme that allows jewellery exporters to import raw materials at zero duty for duty-free export production. The new conditions have been incorporated into the Handbook of Procedures (HBP) 2023 and apply with immediate effect across all Standard Input Output Norms (SIONs) M1 to M8 in the gems and jewellery product group.
The new regulations introduce stricter monitoring mechanisms for gold imports. As reported by the latest Commerce Ministry notification, first-time applicants will undergo mandatory physical inspection of their manufacturing facilities by the concerned regional authority to verify the existence, capacity, and operational status of the facilities. Additionally, repeat applicants will face a new threshold condition: any subsequent gold import authorisation will be issued only after at least 50% of the export obligation prescribed under a preceding authorisation has been fulfilled. AA holders must also submit fortnightly performance reports certified by independent chartered accountants covering gold imports and exports, with regional authorities required to submit monthly consolidated reports to DGFT headquarters for centralized monitoring and policy oversight.
The government implemented substantial duty increases effective May 13, 2026, raising import duty on gold and silver to 15% from 6% and platinum to 15.4% from 6.4%. According to Business Standard, the changes include doubling basic customs duty to 10% and increasing agriculture infrastructure and development cess (AIDC) from 1% to 5%. With 3% Integrated GST (IGST), the total effective import duty reaches 18.45% from 9.18% earlier. These measures follow the government's call for curbing gold purchases amid a ballooning import bill.
The tightened gold import rules come days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to reduce gold purchases and channel savings towards productive investments, amid concerns over rising gold imports and pressure on India's trade balance. As reported by Business Standard, gold and silver imports have shown significant growth, jumping 26.7% year-on-year to USD 102.5 billion in FY2025-26, with their share in total imports rising to 14% from 11.8% in 2024-25. India's gold imports surged more than 24% to an all-time high of USD 71.98 billion in 2025-26, though volume shipments declined 4.76% to 721.03 tonnes. Switzerland remained the largest source of gold imports, accounting for about 40% of the total, followed by the UAE at over 16% and South Africa at about 10%. The gems and jewellery industry has expressed concern that the higher duty may encourage grey market activity and gold smuggling.
