The Centre has tightened import rules for silver bars by moving key categories of silver imports from the “free” category to the “restricted” list, according to a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Friday.
Under the revised policy, imports of silver bars containing 99.9 per cent or more silver by weight, as well as other silver bars under specific HS codes, will now require authorisation from the government. Earlier, these imports were allowed freely, subject to Reserve Bank of India regulations.
The changes were notified through a notification issued on Saturday. The notification amended the import policy for items classified under specific ITC (HS) codes and the import schedule.
According to the notification, silver bars “containing 99.9 per cent or more by weight of silver” and “other” silver bars under the semi-manufactured category have both been shifted from “Free” to “Restricted”. The imports will now be “subject to Policy Condition No. 7 of this Chapter”, the DGFT said.
“The Import Policy of items covered under ITC HS Code 71069221 and 71069229 has been revised from ‘Free’ to ‘Restricted’, subject to Policy Condition No. 7 of Chapter 71 of ITC (HS) 2022, Schedule-I (Import Policy), with immediate effect,” the notification said.
The latest development comes amid a broader tightening of precious metals imports by the government in recent weeks. Earlier this week, the government capped gold imports under the Advance Authorisation scheme at 100 kilograms per licence and tightened compliance rules for jewellery exporters.
India is the world’s largest consumer of silver and among the biggest importers of precious metals globally.