Mumbai, July 1: India has raised its basic import duty on gold in an attempt to dampen its demand in the domestic markets. According to a government notification, import duty on precious metal has been hiked by 5% to 12.5% from 7.5%. This move comes as an effort to curb domestic demand for yellow metal. India, being the second-largest importer of gold, fulfills its demand via imports, which was straining the value of the rupee.

Due to this hike, the rates of gold surged in India, even though the gold prices were low in international markets. The recent import duty hike is a reversal of last year when the taxes were cut down to 7.5% in the budget. India Imposes Export Tax of Rs 6 per Litre on Petrol, Rs 13 per Litre on Diesel; Windfall Tax of Rs 23.30 per Tonne on Domestic Crude Oil.

A report by World Gold Council stated that India had imported the most gold in a decade in 2021, just after recovering from the pandemic. In May 2022, India imported 98 tonnes of gold.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 01, 2022 11:23 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).