Indian Jewellery Sector: Duty Hikes on Gold and Silver

Research evidence excerpt

Indian Jewellery Sector: Duty Hikes on Gold and Silver

India | Retailers EquityMayResearch12, 2026

Exhibit 1 - Key regulatory changes duringIndian Jewellery Sector: Duty Hikes on Gold

and Silver CY12-15Import duty on gold raised from 2% to 15%

Govt has raised customs duty on gold from 6% to 15% in a bid to conserve Disallowance of gold metal loan

foreign exchange amid high crude oil prices & weakening INR. This will Ban on import of gold on consignment basis

result in higher gold prices, which will impact demand. Industry concerns 80:20 rule: For every 100kg of gold, 20kg has to be exported

about increased gold smuggling. There will be some MTM gains (ex-cess) Ban on import of gold coins

in ST, too. While larger players led by Titan are better placed than in the past,

share price volatility will be high as concerns will be about what's next from Reinstatement of gold metal loan

govt. . Domestic gold monetisation scheme

Source: Jefferies

Duty hike: Gov't has raised import duty on gold & silver from 6% to 15% (10% basic customs

duty & 5% Agriculture Infrastructure & Development Cess). The move comes after PM Modi

recently urged households to adopt austerity measures, including avoiding the purchase

of gold jewellery for a year, to conserve foreign exchange amid elevated crude prices & a

weakening INR.

History of severe measures: India’s gold imports surged to over US$50bn in each of FY12 &

FY13, with quantities exceeding 1k tons. These were also periods of acute CAD pressure, which

peaked at c6.8% in Dec-12. The pressures were evident in INR, which depreciated by c20% from

Jan-13 to Sep-13. Back then, too, the-then FM, P. Chidambaram, had urged Indian households

to slow down their gold purchases in Jun-13, following which a series of interventions came