Gold Imports Drop 70% to 30 Tonnes After Duty Hike: Official

• Gold imports dropped to 25-30 tonnes from 75-100 tonnes after duty was raised to 15%.

• Import value still rose 34% year-on-year in May to $3.41 billion.

• The government is prioritising forex for essential imports like crude oil, fertilisers and raw materials.

India's gold imports have reduced about 70 per cent to 25-30 tonnes after customs duty on the yellow metal was more than doubled to 15%, an official said on Thursday.

Effective May 13, import duty on gold and silver has been increased to 15% from 6%.

"Gold imports have been reduced to 25-30 tonnes after an import duty hike in a month, from 75-100 tonnes earlier," the official said.

However, in value terms, India's gold imports rose by 34% year-on-year to $3.41 billion in May, driven by higher prices of the precious metal.

During April-May 2026-27, gold imports surged 60.14% to $9.04 billion.

In the last FY26l, gold imports rose 24% to hit an all-time high of $71.98 billion. In volume terms, however, imports dipped 4.76% to 721.03 tonnes.

Gold imports in India, the world's second-biggest gold consumer after China, are driven by the jewellery industry demand. Such imports involve substantial outflow of foreign exchange.

The duty hike came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call for curbing gold purchases and adopting austerity measures to reduce avoidable foreign exchange expenditure.

The precious metal accounts for over 5% of the country's total imports.

The uncertainties in West Asia are expected to balloon India's import bill, and the government wants to prioritise forex expenditure towards essential imports like crude oil, fertilisers, industrial raw materials and capital goods that directly support economic activity and food security.