India's Gold Bullion Imports to Restart "Immediately"
Friday, 9/20/2013 16:34
Urgent meeting to "resolve differences" as gold trade backs opposition politics...
INDIAN imports of gold bullion will restart "immediately" said the government today, after a hastily convened meeting with importers and exporters "resolved all differences".
After falling to zero this summer, gold bullion imports to India – the world's No.1 consumer nation – may total just 750 tonnes this year, down 11% from 2012 a Congress government official said Thursday.
Trade association the Bombay Bullion Association this week threw its political support behind opposition candidate for the 2014 election Narendra Modi.
Confusion over the current government's 80-20 rule, imposed in July and forcing gold importers to set aside 20% of any shipment for re-export, has led to a collapse in both inflows and outflows of bullion and jewelry, say dealers.
July's gold jewelry exports from India were 70% below a year earlier.
As a proportion of India's gold imports each year, annual exports of jewelry
fell from 40% to 29% over the three years to 2013, according to a report from the Reserve Bank of India.
The Indian Rupee meantime eased back vs. the Dollar on Friday, cutting one third off Wednesday's 3% post-Fed surge despite a rise in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India.
That helped the Indian price of gold bullion rise 0.7% on the day.
"Customs is not clear how to implement the 80/20 principle," one private-bank dealer told reporters ahead of the meeting on Friday.
One tonne of
gold bullion is currently "stuck at airports," says vice-chair of the 7,000-member Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Pankaj Kumar Parekh.
Challenging complaints over the government's rules, however, "The rules are being misread by the people who are supposed to bring in gold and give it to exporters," said trade secretary S.R.Rao going into the meeting.
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