The government has tightened import rules for gold and silver, restricting their entry into India to only nominated agencies, qualified jewellers, and valid TRQ (Tariff Rate Quota) holders under the India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the Economic Times reported.
The restrictions apply to unwrought, semi-manufactured, and powdered forms of gold and silver.
Backdoor gold route via Dubai closed
The move follows reports that some importers had exploited ambiguities in customs classifications to bring in nearly pure gold from Dubai under the guise of platinum alloy.
By misdeclaring gold as platinum, they were able to access lower import duties offered under CEPA.
To counter this, the government has introduced a specific harmonised system (HS) code for platinum with 99 per cent or higher purity. Only such imports will now qualify for duty benefits under CEPA. Other platinum-based alloys or compositions are no longer eligible.
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"This measure follows the Budget announcement to create separate HS codes to ensure that gold imports don't happen in the name of platinum," an official was quoted as saying.
HS code reform and CEPA quotas
The Budget for FY26 proposed the creation of dedicated HS codes for precious metals like gold dore, silver dore, and platinum. The goal is to better regulate and monitor imports while aligning duty structures.
Under CEPA, India allows the import of up to 200 metric tonnes of gold annually from the UAE at a reduced tariff — with a 1 per cent concession available via the TRQ mechanism.
Trade council urges diversification
In February, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) urged the Commerce Ministry to partially shift gold imports from Switzerland to the US to help correct India’s trade imbalance.
Switzerland currently supplies 35 per cent of India’s gold bars. The council proposed a similar shift in silver bar imports from the UK — which supplies 41.54 per cent — to the US.
In 2024, India exported $11.58 billion worth of gems and jewellery to the US while importing $5.31 billion, creating a $6.27 billion surplus.
The US accounted for 20.28 per cent of India’s exports in this category and 12.99 per cent of overall trade.
The GJEPC proposal comes amid concerns over potential tariff pressures from US President Donald Trump, who has publicly called out trade imbalances. The council has also proposed lower domestic import duties to offset possible US retaliation.
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One Mobikwik share price slipped 5.9 per cent in trade, logging an intraday low at ？262 per share on BSE. The selling pressure came after the company posted its Q4 results.
At 10:10 AM, One Mobikwik shares were down 1.22 per cent at ？275.2 per share on the BSE. In comparison, the BSE Sensex was down 0.19 per cent at 81,905.25. The market capitalisation of the company stood at ？2,137.93 crore. The 52-week high of the stock was at ？698.3 per share and the 52-week low of the stock was at ？226.85 per share. Follow Stock Market Latest Updates Today LIVE
One Mobikwik Q4 results
The company released its fourth quarter (Q4FY25) results on Monday, after market hours. The consolidated net loss for the quarter stood at ？56.04 crore as compared to a loss of ？0.67 crore year-on-year (Y-o-Y). The company's revenue from operations in Q4 stood at ？267.8 crore as against ？265 crore a year ago, up 1.1 per cent.
The company's user base stood at 176.4 million with 4.4 million new users onboarded in this quarter. Payments gross merchandise value (GMV) grew over 2.3x Y-o-Y in Q4FY25, reaching ？33,100 crore.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) loss was incurred at ？45.8 crore, due to lower contribution margins, even as the fixed costs reduced Q-o-Q. ALSO READ | RVNL pares gain, slips 7% from day's high despite Rs 179-cr order win
"Our Payments Business has shown remarkable strength, growing threefold year-over-year. Our focus for this year will be to leverage AI as a growth catalyst - to accelerate go-to-market, drive revenue growth, and expand margins through intelligent automation," said Upasana Taku, executive director, co-founder & CFO, One MobiKwik Systems.
About One Mobikwik
One MobiKwik Systems Ltd. (MobiKwik) is a digital wallet service that offers a wide range of payments and financial products to both consumers and merchants. The company, founded by Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku in 2009, today offers various payment products such as MobiKwik Wallet, UPI, Pocket UPI, and Zaakpay (payment gateway), serving 176.4 Mn+ registered users and 4.6 Mn+ merchants. The company has expanded into the distribution of financial products ranging from credit (MobiKwik ZIP, ZIP EMI), savings & investment (Fixed Deposits, Mutual Funds, Digital Gold, Lens.AI), and insurance products on its platform.
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