In a move aimed at checking the misuse of India’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with certain countries, the government has placed import curbs on specific types of platinum jewellery.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in its latest notification that the restrictions, which would be in place until April, 2026, include importers needing a license from the DGFT to import these products.
Claiming some traders were attempting to use the FTA to make a quick buck by exploiting duty differentials and circumventing tariffs, an official said the curbs will prevent imports of precious metals in the name of ‘unstudded jewellery’ from countries like Thailand.
India has an FTA with ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations), of which Thailand is also a member. The India-ASEAN free trade agreement on goods was signed in 2009.
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“So that’s what we are trying to control through these kinds of controls,” the official said.
“The import policy of platinum jewellery is revised from Free to Restricted, with immediate effect till April 30, 2026”, the DGFT said in the latest notification, adding, “...we are learning from all these rules used by the trade and trying to see that the rules of origin provide mechanisms which can address it without getting into these kinds of notifications in future.”
In September, the government had imposed restrictions on imports of certain silver jewellery till March 31 next year.
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