Kamal Ghorui
As the Union Budget 2026 is drawing closer, India’s precious metal refiners are have laid out their expecations from the finance minister. The sector is seeking relief from the current duty structure that favours importers as compared to local refiners, through free trade agreements. MMTC-PAMP managing director and CEO Samit Guha the duty gap has majorly affected the competitiveness of domestic refiners, even as the government is aware of the problem. Highlighting expectations from the government, Guha said that the whole “precious metal refining sector has seen this disparity, which is there in duty, especially through the SEPA route between what we get as Dore versus what refined bullion is imported at.”He added that bullion has been kept out of free trade agreements signed after SEPA, and the industry hopes that upcoming trade deals will also exclude gold and silver from concessional duty regimes. He said targeted policy support is needed to help India enhance its refining capabilities and increase the number of London Bullion Market Association-accredited refineries. This, he suggested, could be done by offering input-linked incentives through duty differentials, either under trade agreements or by expanding the existing gap. “We would request the government to see what they can do in terms of either input-related benefits, in terms of duty differentials…which will really encourage local refiners to invest in the refinery and get ROIs and up their refining capacity and capability to a global level,” Guha said.At present, dore imports attract a duty of 6% for both gold and silver. Refiners receive a 0.65% differential, bringing the effective duty rate down to 5.35%. MMTC-PAMP largely imports gold in dore form for refining. While gold and silver imports have traditionally been in a 1:1 ratio, the company imported about 40 tonnes of gold and 50 tonnes of silver in the 2024–25 financial year.Back in the April–December period of the current fiscal year, imports of gold stood at 36 tonnes and silver at 60 tonnes, Guha said pointing to strong demand for the white metal.
