Govt revises custom duty in gold imports

The government has once again revised the custom duty in the imports of gold following the rise in the custom duty in India.

A cabinet meeting on Thursday decided to increase the import duty to Rs.2,300 from the previous Rs. 1,500 per 10 gm for the precious yellow metal.

Previously, the government had revised the imports custom duty to Rs.1,500 from Rs. 1,000 per 10 gm gold and to Rs. 4,600 from Rs. 2,400 per kg silver in February.

With the revision in the custom duty, the gold price is expected to go up by over Rs. 500 per tola (11.644 gm), according to Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (NGSDA).

The government has decided to increase the duty on gold in order to balance the prices with Indian market and control and discourage illegal activities in the import of the precious metal.

However, gold and silver entrepreneurs had been demanding hike in the custom duty of up to Rs. 2,500 on gold keeping in view the chances of illegal exports of metals to Indian market from Nepal. The custom duty in gold Nepal is lower than in India.

India had also hiked the custom duty on standard gold to 4 percent from 2 percent, and the customs duty on non-standard gold to 10 percent from 5 percent recently in its budget announcement in March.

Previously, the Indian government has revised the import duty on gold to IRs 560 per 10 gm and silver from IRs 1,500 to IRs 3,000 per kg in January. nepalnews.com