New Delhi, May 17, 2026, 13:09 IST
India tightened controls on silver imports with immediate effect, extending a broader effort to slow bullion inflows after raising duties on gold and silver earlier this week and as domestic prices swung sharply. A government order put key silver-bar and semi-manufactured silver categories into the restricted list, meaning importers now face tighter approval requirements.
The move matters now because it comes alongside a rise in fuel prices, higher import costs and pressure on India’s foreign-exchange position. State-run oil companies raised petrol and diesel prices by about 3 rupees a litre on Friday, the first such increase in four years, while bullion duties were lifted to cut overseas purchases of metals.
Silver bars with 99.9% purity and other semi-manufactured silver now fall under the restricted category, Reuters reported, citing the government order. Those categories made up more than 90% of India’s silver imports in the last fiscal year; India buys more than 80% of the silver it consumes from abroad, mainly from the UAE, Britain and China.
India spent a record $12 billion on silver imports in the financial year ended March, up from $4.8 billion a year earlier, while April imports rose 157% from a year earlier to $411 million, trade ministry data showed. Silver is used in jewellery, coins and bars, but also in solar energy and electronics, making the curbs relevant beyond retail bullion counters.
The import move followed a tariff increase that took the effective tax on gold and silver to 15% from 6%. The new structure includes a 10% basic customs duty and a 5% Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess, a levy used for farm-infrastructure funding.
The government has also tightened duty-free gold imports for jewellery exporters, capping imports at 100 kilograms per licence and linking future licences to past export obligations. First-time applicants face physical checks of manufacturing sites, while licence holders must file fortnightly import-export reports certified by an independent accountant.
Prices have not moved in a straight line. In Delhi’s bullion market on Friday, silver fell 21,600 rupees to 275,000 rupees per kilogram, while gold dropped 3,200 rupees to 162,800 rupees per 10 grams, All India Sarafa Association data carried by PTI showed.
Retail silver rates cited by Times Now Navbharat on Sunday were 280,000 rupees per kilogram in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Patna, Lucknow and Jaipur, and 290,000 rupees in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kerala and Bhubaneswar. The same report cited Friday’s sharp fall and said a stronger dollar and profit-taking had weighed on prices.
“Precious metals came under heavy selling pressure,” Saumil Gandhi, senior commodities analyst at HDFC Securities, said of Friday’s selloff, adding that inflation concerns and supply-chain disruptions had pushed investors toward the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields. Jateen Trivedi at LKP Securities said gold was hit by crude prices and a stronger dollar index. Daily Excelsior
Chirag Thakkar, chief executive of Amrapali Group Gujarat, told Reuters the silver import curb would reduce imports and tighten local supply. He said silver had traded at a discount after the duty hike, but could move to a premium in coming weeks.
Fuel is the other pressure point. Economists told the Economic Times that the petrol and diesel increase could add 15 to 20 basis points to retail inflation in coming months; a basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. Radhika Rao of DBS Bank said a 3% to 5% fuel increase likely adds 15 to 25 basis points to headline inflation.
Nomura analysts Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi expect further policy steps in coming weeks and months, Fortune India reported, including tighter overseas-remittance rules, disincentives for non-essential imports, diaspora bonds to raise foreign-currency deposits and higher petrol and diesel prices. Nomura estimated India’s combined imports of gold, silver, platinum, diamonds and pearls rose to $105 billion, or 2.7% of GDP, in FY26 from $81 billion in FY25.
But tighter barriers carry risks. Surendra Mehta, national secretary of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association, said the duty hike was expected but could hurt demand because gold and silver prices were already high; another bullion dealer warned that higher taxes could revive grey-market flows. Jewellery exporters have also said new gold-import compliance rules could weigh on shipments.
