With the Rupee accelerating its declines to ever lower record lows against the dollar, Indian authorities have stepped up capital controls, focusing on curbing demand in the gold ‘exit’ route.
4 days ago, there were no signs of import duty hikes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a rare weekend appeal urging citizens to forgo gold purchases as well as unnecessary foreign travel in order to help hold up the currency..
2 days ago, tariffs were more than doubled on gold and silver imports to 15% and 6% respectively.
And today, they are doing even more with India now tightening the advance authorisation route, effectively capping how much gold individual exporters can bring in through that channel.
A government notification stated that imports of bullion exceeding 100 kilograms would be subject to prior authorization, adding that any subsequent imports would only be granted after exports equivalent to 50% had been carried out.
The notification also introduced stricter checks for first-time applicants seeking permission to import gold under the scheme.
The government has also linked future import approvals to export performance.
Hellbound and Down 