Kamal Ghorui
The government on Wednesday announced curbs on imports of gold, platinum and silver jewellery with immediate effect, a move aimed at checking misuse of free trade agreements (FTAs). These restrictions will operate irrespective of any prior contract, irrevocable letter of credit, advance payment, shipment status, or any other commitment, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.Accordingly, it said, the benefit of transitional arrangements shall not be available. “The Import Policy of items under CTH (customs tariff heading) 7113 is revised from ‘Free’ to ‘Restricted’ with immediate effect,” it said. Articles of gold, silver and platinum jewellery are covered under this heading. Importers of these goods would now need permission or a license from the DGFT. With this, now there are restrictions on all gold, silver and platinum jewellery imports.However, it added that imports by 100 per cent Export Oriented Units and units located in Special Economic Zones (SEZS) shall not be subject to these restrictions. Further, imports under the schemes for export of Gems and Jewellery under a chapter of the foreign grade policy will also be exempt from these restrictions. An industry official said that some importers were misusing the India-Asean FTA. The official urged the government to make the licensing procedure easy so that genuine players do not suffer from the move. India has a free trade pact in goods with the 10-nation South East Asian nation bloc Asean since 2010.In November last year, the government imposed import curbs on certain types of platinum jewellery till April this year. In September 2025, similar curbs were there on silver jewellery till March this year. Some traders were trying to use the FTA to make a quick buck by exploiting duty differentials and circumventing tariffs, the official said, adding the move was aimed at curbing imports of these precious metals in the name of unstudded jewellery from countries like Thailand.
