New Delhi, April 2 The government imposed import restrictions on all forms of gold, silver, and platinum articles on Thursday, a move aimed at preventing the misuse of free trade agreements (FTAs).
These restrictions will apply regardless of any prior contract, irrevocable letter of credit, advance payment, shipment status, or any other commitment, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
Accordingly, the benefits of transitional arrangements will not be available.
"The Import Policy and Policy Condition of items ... covered under Chapter 71 ... is revised ... with immediate effect," it said.
The chapter includes natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, articles, imitation jewellery, and coins.
On April 1, the government announced restrictions on imports of gold, platinum, and silver jewellery.
With this, now there are restrictions on all gold, silver, and platinum jewellery imports.
An industry official said that some importers were misusing the India-Asean FTA. The official urged the government to make the licensing procedure easy so that genuine players do not suffer from the move.
India has a free trade pact in goods with the 10-nation South East Asian nation bloc Asean since 2010.
In November last year, the government imposed import curbs on certain types of platinum jewellery till April this year. In September 2025, similar curbs were imposed on silver jewellery till March this year.
Some traders were trying to use the FTA to make a quick buck by exploiting duty differentials and circumventing tariffs, the official said, adding the move was aimed at curbing imports of these precious metals in the name of unstudded jewellery from countries like Thailand.
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