NEW DELHI |
Tue Sep 17, 2013 6:24pm IST
(Reuters) - India pushed import duty on
gold jewellery up by half to 15 percent, the finance ministry said on
Tuesday, setting it higher than raw gold duty in a move aimed more at
protecting the domestic jewellery industry than stemming bullion
imports.
India imported gold jewellery
worth $137.57 million in the four months from April to July this year --
a fraction of overall bullion imports, which were $2.9 billion in July
alone.
The government has curbed
gold imports through measures including three duty hikes this year to a
record 10 percent and the central bank has put tight restrictions on
importers that have sharply curtailed supplies.
India,
the world's biggest buyer of bullion, had imported a record 162 tonnes
in May and creating a headache for the government which is trying to
curb a wide current account deficit and support a weak rupee.
Gold is the biggest non-essential item in India's import bill but jewellery is a tiny fraction of the purchases.
The
hike in import duty on jewellery had been a demand from the industry to
ensure the viability of the domestic jewellery manufacturing, and avoid
imports of cheaper jewellery from Thailand, Malaysia or elsewhere.
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Rajesh Kumar Singh; Writing by Jo Winterbottom; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)
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