We use cookies (including third-party cookies such as Google) to remember your site preferences and to help us understand how visitors use our sites so we can improve them. To learn more, please see our privacy policy and our cookie policy.

To agree to our use of cookies, click 'Accept' or choose 'Options' to set your preferences by cookie type.

Options Accept
BullionVault

CHARTS

  • English
  • Deutsch
  • Español
  • Français
  • Italiano
  • Polski
  • 日本語
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Daily audit
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Deposit
  • Login
  • Open account
  • ABOUT US
    • About BullionVault
    • In the press
    • Reviews
    BUY/SELL BULLION
    • Vaulted gold & silver
    • -Live order board
    • -Daily Price
    • Coins for delivery (UK)
    INVESTMENT GUIDE
    • Guide to gold
    • -How to buy gold
    • -Gold investment
    • -Gold investment plan
    • -Investment insurance
    • -Compare asset performance
    • Guide to silver
    • -How to buy silver
    • Guide to platinum
    • -How to buy platinum
    GOLD NEWS
    • Gold news front page
    • -Gold price news
    • -Opinion & analysis
    • -Market fundamentals
    • -Gold/Silver Investor Index
    • -Infographics
    CHARTS
    • Gold price
    • Silver price
    • Platinum price
    • Price alerts
  • Login
  • Open account
  • BUY/SELL BULLION
  • Vaulted gold & silver
    • ⤷
    • Live order board
    • Daily Price
  • Coins for delivery (UK)
  • INVESTMENT GUIDE
  • Guide to gold
    • ⤷
    • How to buy gold
    • Gold investment
    • Gold investment plan
    • Investment insurance
    • Compare asset performance
  • Guide to silver
    • ⤷
    • How to buy silver
  • Guide to platinum
    • ⤷
    • How to buy platinum
  • GOLD NEWS
  • Gold news front page
    • ⤷
    • Gold price news
    • Opinion & analysis
    • Market fundamentals
    • Gold/Silver Investor Index
    • Infographics
  • CHARTS
  • Gold price
  • Silver price
  • Platinum price
  • Price alerts
  • ABOUT US
  • About BullionVault
  • In the press
  • Reviews
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Daily audit
    • English
    • Deutsch
    • Español
    • Français
    • Italiano
    • Polski
    • 日本語
    • 简体中文
    • 繁體中文

Gold News

Live support

NEED HELP? ASK US NOW

Search form

Gold News front page

Gold Price News

Gold Priced Like Covid Never Happened as Powell 'Fails to Rescue' Stocks from Bond Slump

More...

Gold Investing In Depth

Learn about gold bullion bars

Learn about gold bullion coins (and costs)

Gold investment: Why & how?

Gold Investment Analysis

  • Latest Gold Investor Index
  • Diversification: Gold as investment insurance
  • 40-year Asset Performance Comparison Table

Gold Articles

Opinion & Analysis

Gold Price News

Investment News

Gold in History

Gold Books

Gold Investor Index

Gold Infographics

Archive

  • March 2021 (5)
  • February 2021 (23)
  • January 2021 (25)
  • December 2020 (24)
  • November 2020 (23)
More...

List of authors

India's Gold Coin Import Ban "Will Stay", Smuggling Surges

Wednesday, 10/23/2013 11:51
Finance minister Chidambaram restates ban as illegal imports seen replacing the "white market"...
 
GOLD COINS and medallions for investment will continue to be banned from legal imports to India, the finance minister repeated on Tuesday.
 
Replying to suggestions that gold coins should be permitted for "auspicious gifts" as India's 900 million Hindus prepare for the festive season of Diwali and Dhanteras, P.Chidambaram said "I have asked banks to be very strict on gold imports. They have to scrupulously follow the [Reserve Bank of India] and government guidelines.
 
"Import of gold coins and gold medallions is prohibited. Nobody can import gold coins and medallions."
 
But in the world's heaviest gold consumer nation, " demand for gold is inelastic" counters an editorial in the Financial Express. "About 800 tonnes or more of gold, whether priced $2000 per troy oz or $1000, will land in the country somehow."
 
Seeking to reverse India's large balance of payments deficit, the Indian government has this year crushed legal gold imports. First it raised import duty into the world's heaviest gold-consuming nation to 10%, and also imposed strict financing rules, as well as restricting the type of bullion which can be delivered.
 
Finally in summer 2013, the government forced 20% of all gold imports to be set aside for re-export before it can be released for domestic sale. Legal imports collapsed to zero in July and August as importers struggled to interpret the new rules.
 
Smuggling of gold coins, bars and other items now continues to surge amid the government's anti-import measures, press reports and analysts say.
 
"Has it become the national agenda to convert a white economy of $34 billion into a grey one whether wholly or partially?" asks the Financial Express article. "Exuberance over the reduction of [the trade deficit] is flawed."
 
Opposition politician Narendra Modi, now BJP candidate as prime minister for India's 2014 elections, has meantime backtracked on ridiculing an excavation in Unnao district, where 12 members of the Archaeological Survey of India are digging for gold after a local holyman dreamt that 1,000 tonnes are buried under a 19th century fort.
 
"The premier archaeological agency has risked its credibility and raised serious professional and procedural questions," says The Hindu newspaper. "The ASI, in its defence, citing Seventh and 19th century texts, has explained that the site is important," with gold coins and jewelry being potential treasure.
 
Already backing the Indian jewelry industry's complaints against the gold coin and bullion import rules, Modi tweeted on Monday that he "salutes" the Unnao seer, whose quest for the dreamt-of gold he had called "bizarre" last week.
  • Reddit logo
  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo
  • Google logo
  • Yahoo logo
  • LinkedIn logo
  • Digg logo
  • StumbleUpon logo
  • Technorati logo

See all articles by Gold Bug here.

Please Note: All articles published here are to inform your thinking, not lead it. Only you can decide the best place for your money, and any decision you make will put your money at risk. Information or data included here may have already been overtaken by events – and must be verified elsewhere – should you choose to act on it. Please review our Terms & Conditions for accessing Gold News.

Follow Us

Facebook Youtube Twitter LinkedIn

 

Mobile apps

 - live trading 24/7

 - buy & sell instantly

 - up-to-the-second charts

 

 

 

Daily news email
Go to 'communications settings' 

Get the latest daily gold price news free by email

Latest gold news by email

 

 

 

Gold Investor Index
2 March 2021

Silver Investor Index

Silver beats gold again

 

 

 

LBMA webinar
21 January 2021

LBMA

London gold trading

 

 

 

Bloomberg TV
1 February 2021

Bloomberg TV

r/silver-surge

 

 

 

ET Now
3 March 2021

Gold drop

Gold's big drop

 

 

 

  •  Email us

Market Fundamentals

  • Green Energy: Platinum Key to New 'Hydrogen Catapult'
  • 2021 Gold Price to Rise 11.5%: LBMA Forecast
  • 'Cut Bullion Duty to Cut Smuggling': India's Gold Industry
More...
  • Cost calculator
  • Cookies
  • Terms & conditions

©BullionVault Ltd 2005-

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube

Save your cookie preferences

We use cookies to remember your site preferences, record your referrer and improve the performance of our site. For more information, see our cookie policy.

Please select an option below and 'Save' your preferences.

Save

You can update your cookie preferences at any time from the 'Cookies' link in the footer.

Secure auto-logout warning

You have not been active for some time.

For your security you will be logged out in   minutes unless you take action.