To check routing of precious metals mixed with platinum through countries with which India has free trade agreements, the government has put imports of platinum jewellery on restricted list till April 30 next year.
The move came after it was brought to the notice of the government that platinum jewellery is coming from countries like Thailand to circumvent higher duties on metals like gold. Thailand is part of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) with which India has an FTA.
Under World Customs Organisation (WC) rules, any item containing even 1% platinum could be declared as a platinum alloy. Some importers used this loophole to bring in products that have high gold content as duties on platinum are lower.
Some traders were trying to use the FTA to make a quick buck by exploiting duty differentials and circumventing tariffs, an official said.
“So that’s what we are trying to control through this. So these kinds of controls are going on,” the official added.
“…we are learning from all these rules used by the trade and trying to see that the rules of origin provide mechanisms which can address it without getting into these kinds of notifications in future,” the official added.
The import policy of platinum jewellery “is revised from Free to Restricted, with immediate effect till April 30, 2026”, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification issued on Monday. Importers now need a licence from the DGFT to import these goods.
Earlier also the government had put curbs on imports of gold and silver by mixing them with other metals or changing their forms. DGFT had put imports of pallidum, rhodium and iridium with more than 1% gold and silver in the restricted category. Earlier these imports were free.
Similarly imports of colloidal precious metals of gold and silver and organic and inorganic compounds of precious metals, and amalgam of precious metals have been restricted.
Colloidal precious metals are suspension of gold or silver nanoparticles dispersed in a liquid.