ECONOMY
Govt puts more curbs on gold, silver; mixed metals shifted to restricted category
- IBJ Bureau
- Jun 20, 2025
The government has put further curbs on import of gold and silver. It has shifted merchandise where gold and silver are mixed with other metals or in liquid form to the restricted category from open general licence (OGL).
A section of importers are found to be avoiding paying full duties on the two precious metals brought into the country by combining them with other metals.
Through separate notifications, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has put imports of palladium, rhodium and iridium with more than 1 per cent gold and silver in the restricted category. Earlier, these imports were under OGL.
Similarly, import of colloidal precious metals of gold and silver and organic and inorganic compounds of precious metals and amalgam of precious metals has been restricted.
Colloidal precious metals are suspension of gold or silver nanoparticles dispersed in liquid.
In normal circumstances, colloidal gold and silver nanoparticles have a wide range of applications, particularly in medicine and diagnostics, due to their unique optical and antibacterial properties. Colloidal gold is used in cancer therapy and drug delivery, while colloidal silver is known for its antibacterial properties and is used in wound dressings and various other products.
In 2024-25, India’s import of colloidal precious metals of gold was just $7.19 million, while colloidal silver imports were $0.5 million. As against this, total gold imports in the previous financial year stood at $58 billion, while silver imports were $4.82 billion.
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