Centre tightens screws on platinum jewellery imports

New Delhi: The government has imposed import curbs on certain types of platinum jewellery till April next year, a move aimed at checking misuse of free trade agreements. In September, the government had imposed restrictions on imports of certain silver jewellery till March 31 next year. The move was aimed at curbing imports of these precious metals in the name of unstudded jewellery from countries like Thailand. India has a free trade agreement with ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations). Thailand is a member of this 10-nation group. The India-ASEAN free trade agreement on goods was signed in 2009.

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 the latest notification. Importers now need a licence from the DGFT to import these goods. 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.