NEW DELHI, June 1: The government's announcement of increase the import duty of gold by Rs 30 to Rs 250 per 10 grams is unlikely to have any adverse impact on the quantity of gold imported in the country, bullion traders said.Given the huge quantity of the metal that continues to be imported, the government is the only beneficiary of the higher import duty on gold.With international prices dipping, gold-crazy India imported 190.7 tonnes of gold during the first quarter of 1998, according to World Gold Council reports. This was 17 per cent higher than 163.6 tonnes imported in the same period last year. During calendar 1997, total gold imports were the highest at 736.7 tonnes.
"The move will make imports of gold costlier by around Rs 350 per one 10-tola biscuit of gold," said Makhanlal Damani, president, Bombay Bullion Exchange. "However, this will not have any impact on total imports."According to Damani, the increased duty will not help Indian importers take the benefit of declining international goldprices.
During calendar 1997, at Rs 220 per 10 gramm of gold imports, the government is understood to have collected around Rs 1,620.75 crore through import duty, if WGC's figure of 736.7 tonnes of gold imported is accepted.
This included, gold imported by the 14 Reserve Bank of India designated agencies, including State Trading Corporation and commercial banks.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
