India’s Department of Commerce released its quick-estimate import table for August 2026 on 15 September, recording gold imports of US$2,298 million against US$5,439 million in August 2025, a fall of 57.7%. The table, sourced from quick estimates of the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), puts July 2026 gold imports at US$4,163 million and April–August 2026-27 at US$17,471 million, 3.4% above the same five months of 2025-26. Silver imports rose 127.1% to US$1,026 million in August.
The standard customs duty on gold and silver entering India has been 15% since 13 May 2026, under the Ministry of Finance customs notifications of 12 May. For gold, the duty is assessed on the tariff value per 10 grams that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs notifies under Notification 36/2001-Customs (N.T.).
Unwrought gold of 99.5% fineness or more is a restricted import under Notification 08/2025-26 of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). Imports of that gold run through banks authorised by the Reserve Bank of India and agencies nominated by DGFT, through jewellers qualified by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) on the India International Bullion Exchange, and through India–UAE CEPA tariff-rate-quota holders on that exchange, with physical delivery from IFSCA-registered vaults in special economic zones. DGFT Public Notice 04/2026-27 lists 17 banks authorised to import gold from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029.
DGFT Public Notice 11/2026-27 of 14 May 2026 caps each Advance Authorisation for gold at 100 kilograms and issues a further one only after at least 50% of the earlier export obligation is fulfilled; Advance Authorisation is the route through which gold for jewellery export production enters duty-free. The consignee on a delivery instruction ending in India is an authorised importer or an Advance Authorisation holder, and the consignee’s bill of entry for home consumption is assessed at the rate and tariff value in force on the day it is presented, under section 15 of the Customs Act, 1962.
The quick estimate settles the value of August gold imports; quantities and countries of origin by HS code follow in DGCIS commodity-level monthly data.