The Indian government has restricted import of gold and silver jewellery studded with cheaper diamonds amid the discount of $30 an ounce offered in Dubai.
In a notification issued on Wednesday, the Government imposed a ban on the import of gold and silver jewellery studded with low-value diamonds.
While both gold and silver prices have taken a beating of late, the long term prospects of both precious metals appear to be firm given the raging war between the US and Iran.
With heavy bombings by Iran, the financial activities including bullion trade and tourism in Dubai have come to a standstill.
This has forced many bullion dealers to offer a discount of $30 an ounce. Once the flight services resume, the gold and silver jewellery may flow into India putting temporary pressure on domestic prices.
Until June 30
Amid this, the government has now amended the regulation concerning gold and silver and has issued a formal notification regarding the same.
According to the notification issued by the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade, the import policy for these specific items has been reclassified from ‘Free’ to ‘Restricted.’ This rule has come into effect immediately and will remain operative until June 30.
The DGFT stated that, under this decision, controls will be exercised over the import of the relevant commodities.
Checking indiscriminate inflows
Prithviraj Kothari, President, India Bullion and Jewellers Association, said the move to place imports of gold and silver jewellery studded with diamonds under the restricted list is aimed at curbing indiscriminate inflows, improving traceability and protecting domestic manufacturers.
It likely comes at a time when authorities are focusing on reducing trade imbalances and preventing misuse of import channels for duty arbitrage, he said.
In the near term, this could tighten supply, increase compliance costs and support local jewellery production, he added.
For the industry, it encourages value addition within India but may disrupt supply chains for exporters dependent on imported finished products, said Kothari.
Published on March 18, 2026
