Govt likely to hike import duty on gold in Budget.

New Delhi: A hike in the import duty on gold to curb its imports and tax sops to encourage people to replace idle gold with financial instruments may be in the offing.

The Finance Ministry is said to be considering these moves which may find a mention in the Budget.

"In the last two months gold imports have risen. It is a cause of concern. Steps are needed...Something will be announced in Budget...May be an import duty hike," a senior Finance Ministry official said.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has already expressed concern over rising imports of the precious metal and hinted at hiking duty on gold imports to curb its demand.

The basic customs duty on standard gold bars is 4 percent and the levy on non-standard gold is 10 percent.

On concerns that higher import duty would lead to gold smuggling, the official said "that needs to be dealt with separately".

The official further said the government could also come out with scheme to ensure productive use of gold which is lying idle with the people.

Chidambaram is scheduled to present the Budget for 2013-14 on February 28.

While expressing concern over the imports, the Finance Minister had appealed to the people to "moderate the demand for gold which leads to its large imports".

Traditionally, India has been the world's largest consumer and importer of gold.

Outflow of the foreign exchange on gold imports is impacting country's Current Account Deficit (CAD), which has widened to USD 38.7 billion or 4.6 percent of the GDP during the first half of the current fiscal.


Source : zeenews.india.com