Gold is one of India’s major imports and amounted to $72 billion in 2025-26, up 24% from the previous year. (Image generated using AI)The central government has collected Rs 10,040 crore as revenue just from gold bought from abroad after it raised the customs duty on the yellow metal on May 13, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Parliament on Monday.The revenue was collected from May 13 to August 2. A further Rs 328 crore was collected from silver imports and Rs 95 crore from platinum purchases from overseas.All in all, Rs 10,463 crore has been collected as revenue by the government from the import of gold, silver, and platinum between May 13 and August 2. To put this number in perspective, the Centre’s overall customs duty revenue in May-June was Rs 40,317 crore, up 42% year-on-year, latest data shows.Also Read | NBFC gold loan growth touches 69.3% in June, industry credit moderatesOn May 13, the government hiked the customs duty on gold and silver imports from 5% to 10%, and Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) from 1% to 5%, taking the total effective import duty to 15%. The effective import duty on platinum was also increased to 15.4% from 6.4%.Further, the import duty on gold and silver findings was also raised to 5%, with platinum findings attracting a duty of 5.4%.Findings are small components such as hooks, clasps, clamps, pins, and screws used to hold the whole or a part of a piece of jewellery in place.Finally, a 3% Integrated GST (IGST) will be payable on all imports of precious metals in addition to the basic customs duty and AIDC.Story continues below this adGold is one of India’s major imports and amounted to $72 billion in 2025-26, up 24% from the previous year. In January 2026, for the first time ever, Indians invested more in gold Exchange Traded Funds than equity mutual funds.As per latest available data, India’s gold imports in the first three months of 2026-26 were $11.01 billion, up 47% on year. Silver imports, however, were down 43% at $547 million.The sharp increase in import duties on precious metals came amid unprecedented pressure on the rupee, which was moving towards the 100-per-dollar mark in the wake of the US and Israel’s attack on Iran. The West Asia conflict led to the closure of the key waterway of the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up global energy prices, disrupting supplies and trade, and spooking foreign investors, who fled Indian financial markets. All this weakened the rupee significantly and it almost touched the 97-per-dollar mark in mid-May.The duty hike on the import of precious metals also followed an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reduce their consumption of fuel – which Indian mostly imports – non-essential foreign travel, and gold purchases for a year. This, Modi had said, would help preserve the country’s foreign exchange.Siddharth Upasani is a Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. He reports primarily on data and the economy, looking for trends and changes in the former which paint a picture of the latter. Before The Indian Express, he worked at Moneycontrol and financial newswire Informist (previously called Cogencis). Outside of work, sports, fantasy football, and graphic novels keep him busy. ... Read More Tags:gold