Centre imposes curbs on silver imports, authorisation needed for 99.9% purity category

The Union government on Saturday imposed restrictions on silver imports, moving several categories of the metal from the “free” to the “restricted” category.

This means that the imports will now require authorisation from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

As per the notification issued by the authority, governmental approval will be needed to import silver bars containing 99.9% or more silver, as also other silver bars under specific Harmonised System codes, or HS codes.

Certain categories of silver imports will also now be subject to Reserve Bank of India regulations.

The Government of India has tightened the policy regarding the import of silver bars, changing their status from 'Free' to 'Restricted' with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/k4Zyq4W2rO— ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2026

This comes in the context of the government seeking to tighten oversight on imports of precious metals, so as to ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves. This may also help reduce the country’s trade deficit and support the weakening rupee.

Earlier this week, the government raised import tariffs on gold and silver to 15% from 6%.

Demand for gold, particularly as an investment, has risen in India following a recent rally in prices and weak equity returns over the past year.

India has been trying to discourage gold imports and in recent weeks had...

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