New Dehli: The Indian government has sharply increased customs duties on gold and silver to 15% from 6%, and platinum imports to 15.4% from 6.4%, as policymakers seek to contain pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves and external account during the ongoing West Asia conflict.

Consequential changes have also been made to related products including gold and silver dore, coins and findings.

The government has imposed a 10% basic customs duty along with a 5% Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) on gold and silver imports, taking the effective import tax to 15%.

A source said the increase in customs duty on precious metals, including gold, gold dore, silver, silver dore and platinum, was introduced as a policy measure aimed at safeguarding macroeconomic stability, conserving foreign exchange and moderating non-essential imports during a period of heightened global uncertainty linked to the West Asia crisis.

“The increase in customs duty on precious metals is intended to moderate avoidable import demand and ease pressure on the external account. The measure is neither prohibitory nor anti-consumer in nature. It is a carefully calibrated and proportionate intervention designed to encourage moderation in non-essential imports at a time when external vulnerabilities remain elevated,” the source said.