India’s gold import reduced by 15% in April-June quarter
India’s gold import has declined from Rs 54,800 crore to Rs 46,000 crore during the first three months of the current financial year, registering a fall of around 15% compared to the corresponding period of the last fiscal. India imported 203 tonnes of gold between April and June, down from 221 tonnes imported during the same period last year, a report said citing a Finance Ministry data. During 2014-15, India’s gold import was valued at $34.3 billion, up 19.58% from $28.7 billion from previous year. Gold import constitutes a major share in country’s overall import every year and import duty imposed on the precious metal contributes a huge chunk to the revenue of the Income Tax department. At present, the government imposes 10% import duty on gold. During April-June 2015, tax authorities collected around Rs 3,300 crore as import duty from gold importers as against Rs 4,900 crore collected during the same period in 2014. According to experts, the decline in revenue collection is the outcome of falling demand of the metal in the country and decreasing gold prices in the international market. In the past one year, the price of gold has reduced from $1,300 per ounce to the range of $1,150 an ounce. According to the Ministry of Commerce, the country’s overall import in May was $32.7 billion, down 16.5% from $39.2 billion during the same month last year. The total import value of April and May combined also fell from $74.9 billion to $65.8 billion year-on-year.
July 14, 2015 | 5:32 pm IST.
to success.