Taking gold to India from Oman just got more expensive

Indians living in Oman and other overseas countries who bring gold from overseas will now need to pay more towards customs duty when they land at Indian airports after the Indian government hiked customs duties on gold purchases from 10 to 12.5 percent.

The announcement was made as part of the 2019 Union Budget.

According to the Tax Research Unit at the GOI’s Ministry of Finance, the basic customs duty (BCD) on gold and silver “imported through baggage by eligible passengers is being increased from 10 percent to 12.5 percent.”

In this context, in her budget speech, Indian Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman had said, “It is also proposed to increase custom duty on gold and other precious metals from 10 percent to 12.5 percent.”

Precious metals brought in to India by passengers flying to the country has been classified in the 2019 budget as “Gold and Silver imported by an eligible passenger as baggage,” and the customs duty placed on them will be categorized as indirect taxes.

The move was made under the ‘additional revenue measures’ of the Indian government’s budget plans, which increases the customs duty on most items made from on containing precious metals such as gold, silver, and platinum. This includes versions of the metals that are in unwrought, semi-manufactured and powder forms.

The purchase of base metals that are clad with gold, silver, and platinum, as well as scrap metal containing these metals will also come under this new excise rule.