New Delhi, 19 June 2025 — In a significant move aimed at tightening regulatory oversight on importing alloys while ensuring uninterrupted supply for industrial users, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has issued two crucial notifications—No. 18/2025-26 and No. 19/2025-26, both dated 17th June 2025—pertaining to import restrictions on certain precious metal alloys and colloidal metal compounds.
These notifications are part of India’s evolving trade policy architecture that seeks to curb the misuse of free import channels for gold under the guise of industrial inputs, while protecting the interests of key industrial sectors such as electronics, automotive, chemicals, and electrical manufacturing.
Notification No. 18/2025-26: Import Restriction on Precious Metal Alloys Containing Gold
Under this notification, the DGFT has announced restrictions on the import of alloys of Palladium, Rhodium, and Iridium that contain more than 1% gold by weight. These items fall under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 7110, which includes platinum and other metals of the platinum group and their alloys.
This restriction builds upon the earlier Notification No. 60/2024-25 dated 5th March 2025, which restricted imports of platinum alloys containing gold. The new notification now covers the entire CTH 7110 at the 4-digit level, thereby bringing uniformity and consistency in the import policy related to all platinum group metals and their alloys containing gold.
Key Objective: The restriction is primarily intended to curb improper routing of gold into the Indian market under the pretense of alloy imports—an issue that has raised concerns in recent months among customs authorities and financial regulators.
However, in a balanced policy approach, the DGFT has permitted free import of alloys containing less than 1% gold, allowing essential raw material flows to continue without disruption to manufacturing and export sectors. Industries such as electronics, specialised chemicals, and auto components heavily rely on such materials for high-end applications.
Notification No. 19/2025-26: Import Restriction on Colloidal Metals and Compounds under CTH 2843
In a related development, DGFT has also restricted imports of colloidal precious metals, inorganic or organic compounds of precious metals, and amalgams of precious metals classified under CTH 2843.
This measure comes in the wake of growing intelligence reports suggesting attempts to import gold in disguised forms through chemical and colloidal formulations, thereby avoiding customs duties and bypassing regulatory scrutiny.
Regulatory Measure: The import of such compounds will now require an Import Authorization (IA), which will be granted only for actual industrial users such as electronics manufacturers, electrical component suppliers, and chemical industries.
This ensures that genuine industrial demand is met, while unauthorised imports are prevented, thus plugging regulatory loopholes and preserving the sanctity of India’s gold import framework.
Policy Context and Implications
India has been a leading global consumer of gold, and the government has implemented a variety of trade and fiscal measures over the years to balance the twin objectives of demand regulation and industrial need. The revised import restrictions are consistent with India’s ongoing efforts to:
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Curb smuggling and misuse of trade channels.
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Enhance transparency in precious metal imports.
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Ensure availability of legitimate inputs for high-technology and export sectors.
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Prevent revenue losses to the exchequer due to under-invoicing and misclassification.
The notifications are available in full detail on the DGFT official portal.
For more details, check press release on PIB website.
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