The government on Wednesday announced a ban on the import of gold, platinum and silver jewelery with immediate effect. The purpose of this step is to prevent misuse of Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notice that this ban will apply irrespective of any previous deal, confirmed LC, advance payment, shipment status or any other promise.
He also made it clear that there will be no transition period in between. DGFT said that the import policy of goods falling under CTH 7113 has been immediately changed from free to restricted. Gold, silver and platinum jewelery comes in this category. Now to import these things, it will be necessary to obtain permission or license from DGFT.
There is no ban on these
After this decision, the import of all gold, silver and platinum jewelery has been banned. However, this restriction will not apply to 100% exporting units (EOUs) and companies located in Special Economic Zones (SEZ). Apart from this, under the Foreign Trade Policy, imports under schemes related to export of gems and jewelery have also been exempted. An industry official said that some importers were taking unfair advantage of the India-ASEAN FTA. He demanded the government to simplify the licensing process, so that genuine businessmen do not suffer losses.
India has a free trade agreement for trade in goods with ASEAN, a group of 10 South-East Asian countries, since 2010. In November last year, the government had banned the import of some types of platinum jewelery till April. A similar ban was imposed on silver jewelery in September 2025, which remained in force till March this year. According to the official, some traders were trying to earn quick profits through FTA by taking advantage of the difference in tax and saving duty. The purpose of this step is to stop the import of precious metals in the name of stone-free jewelery from countries like Thailand.
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