Gold Import Restrictions in India 2026

Gold Import Restrictions in India have a significant impact on businesses, importers, jewellers, and consumers across the country in FY 2026. In addition, the government tightened its gold import regulations. In mid-May 2026, DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) and RBI enforced these measures to stabilise the trade deficit and protect the Rupee. Furthermore, they ensured that no one could misuse Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Through these Gold Import Restrictions in India 2026, the authorities are curbing overseas purchases and safeguarding the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

The crucial measure is increasing the import duty on gold and silver from 6% to 15%. Along with this, they capped duty-free imports under the Advance Authorisation scheme at 100 kg per license. Moreover, they imposed strict monitoring on jewellery exporters. The Import Duty Hike sharply to 15%, fully reversed the cuts made earlier in the year. Jewellery manufacturers and exporters are now limiting to import a maximum of \(100\text{ kg}\) of raw gold. This has taken shape under the AA scheme (which earlier had no import limits).

Exporters will now have to submit import-export reports every 15 days. The new applicants face essential factory inspections to prevent misuse of duty-free inputs. International travellers and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) have permission of duty-free gold jewellery allowance of up to \(40\text{g}\) for female passengers and \(20\text{g}\) for male passengers. Passengers of Indian origin with a valid passport who had stayed abroad for at least 6 months can import up to \(1\text{ kg}\) of gold upon payment of duty in convertible foreign currency.

Falcon Freight (Falcon India) helps jewellery exporters navigate the latest Indian gold import restrictions by simplifying customs clearance. They can also prepare compliant documentation, and expediting Advance Authorisation scheme processes.

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Gold Restrictions Impact on jewellery industry

The jewellery industry in India is facing a major impact due to rising gold prices and higher import duties. Although gold jewellery continues to remain popular, it is gradually becoming less affordable for average consumers. High prices of the yellow metal are forcing people to reduce their spending, which has led to a decline in sales volumes. Gold jewellery retailers recorded an 8% drop in FY26, and demand may further decline by 13–15% this financial year to nearly 620–640 tonnes.

The slowdown is mainly caused by steep gold prices and the recent import duty hike. Since India depends heavily on imported gold for domestic consumption, any increase in import duty directly raises retail prices. Earlier this month, the government increased the import duty on gold from 6% to 15%, making jewellery more expensive for consumers. These policy changes have resulted in a sharp decline in retail demand across the market.

Government measures and rising prices have also affected consumer sentiment. Buyers are now paying more for smaller quantities of gold, which is discouraging many entry-level consumers from purchasing jewellery. Jewellers expect the higher duty structure to reduce short-term demand further and keep price-sensitive buyers away from the market for some time.

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Conclusion

ndia has tightened gold imports by increasing the effective customs duty to 15%. They are placing a 100 kg cap on duty-free imports under the Advance Authorisation scheme. These strict macroeconomic measures are meant to relieve pressure on the Indian Rupee. This will ease the current account deficit, and protect foreign exchange reserves amid geopolitical uncertainty. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) limited duty-free gold imports for jewellery exporters to 100 kg per licence. Exporters must now fulfil at least 50% of previous export obligations to qualify for new licences. Finished precious metal jewellery imports are shifted to the “restricted” list to prevent the misuse of Free Trade Agreements.

Falcon Freight ensures that all customs documentation, such as the Bill of Entry and 15-day utilization reports required by the revised rules, are accurate.