There is no immediate plan to increase the import duty on gold and silver to curb the import, confirmed source from the Commerce Ministry on Monday.
The comment came as there has been a growing concern over India’s widening import bill and pressure on foreign exchange reserves.
"There will be no import restrictions on gold and silver. There's no plan to increase the import duty, " said the source.
The clarification came amid speculation that the Centre could consider raising customs duties on gold and silver imports to discourage non-essential purchases and ease pressure on the current account deficit. However, government officials indicated that no such tariff revision is under consideration at this stage.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised on Sunday the need for greater economic self-reliance and urged citizens to reduce dependence on imported products and avoid buying precious metal.
Modi had flagged the strain caused by elevated crude oil prices, a weakening rupee and rising imports of non-essential items such as gold jewellery due to the West Asia crisis.
He appealed to citizens to curb avoidable imports, particularly gold purchases and excessive overseas expenditure, in order to conserve foreign exchange for priority requirements.
He stressed that every dollar saved through lower discretionary imports could help strengthen India’s economic resilience at a time of global uncertainty.
India is one of the world’s largest importers of gold, with purchases of the precious metal traditionally rising during the festive and wedding seasons. Higher imports of precious metal along with elevated crude oil prices, led to widening of the trade deficit and increase pressure on the rupee.