The government has hiked import duty on gold and platinum from 6 to 8 per cent. This was disclosed by Revenue Secretary Sumit Bose in New Delhi yesterday. The hike is aimed at curbing import of gold, which is mainly responsible for the rise in Current Account Deficit (CAD), impacting on the country's foreign exchange reserves as well as the rupee value.
This is the second hike in the duty in six months as gold imports touched an alarming 162 tonnes in May. The imports touched a staggering figure of 15 billion US dollars in the last two months.
The CAD, which is a difference between inflow and outflow of foreign currency, touched a historic high of 6.7 per cent of GDP in the quarter ending December 2012.