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India caps duty free gold imports and tightens approvals to protect rupee amid misuse fears
Economy
Published on 14 May 2026
Only 100 kg per licence now under special scheme
India has tightened rules for duty-free gold imports under the advance authorisation scheme, a day after raising customs duties. The DGFT now caps gold imports at 100 kg per licence and requires firms to meet at least 50% of earlier export obligations before receiving further approvals. The government says the scheme risks “price arbitrage” and misuse through quick large shipments. It also introduces mandatory physical inspections for new applicants and adds fortnightly and monthly reporting on import and export activity.
- Advance authorisation duty-free gold imports capped at 100 kg per licence
- More approvals depend on exporters completing at least 50% of prior export obligations
- DGFT cites risk of scheme misuse for large immediate imports and price arbitrage
- FY26 gold imports rose 24% to $71.98 billion, volume down 4.76% to 721 tonnes
- Mandatory factory physical inspections required for new scheme applicants
- Fortnightly exporter reporting and monthly DGFT consolidated reporting added
Read the full story at The Economic Times
This summarization was done by Beige for a story published on 
The Economic Times