India Said to Plan Gold Policy Overhaul for $19 Billion Sector

(June 15, 2017 - by Shruti Srivastava & Swansy Afonso

India, which vies with China as the world’s top consumer of bullion, is working on new policies to improve transparency and help expand its $19 billion gold jewelry industry, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The plans being worked out by the finance and commerce ministries along with industry groups should be finalized by the end of March, the people said, asking not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. D.S. Malik, spokesman for the finance ministry, didn’t answer calls to his cellphone. A spokeswoman for the commerce ministry didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

The launch of a spot bullion exchange, to make gold supply more transparent and help enforce purity standards, is under consideration, the people said. An import tax of 10 percent could also be reduced as the government seeks to eliminate smuggling, they said. The plans also include a dedicated bank for the jewelry industry, according to one of the people.

The overhaul of India’s disorganized and fragmented gold jewelry industry is meant to bolster confidence among consumers, where the giving of gold at weddings and festivals or its purchase as a store of value are deeply held traditions. Enforcing purity standards and allowing supply chains to be easily tracked are ways to enhance trust in the metal. The estimate for the size of the sector was given by the Mumbai-based India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd.

Monetizing Gold

The government is also keen to get the public to recycle its jewelry to reduce the nation’s reliance on imports. After a slow start to its plans to monetize the precious metal held in households and institutions, the government is looking to tweak the scheme and attract more participants, the people said, without giving details. The initiative, launched in November 2015, was aimed at returning an estimated 20,000 metric tons of idle gold to the financial system.

The commerce ministry is working with the Quality Council of India to make sure testing centers meet international purity standards and is seeking global recognition for its Bureau of Indian Standards hallmark, the people said. Of about 30 bullion refineries in the country, only 10 are BIS certified, so far. The government also wants to bring the same quality control to the nation’s gold refineries, they said.

The World Gold Council, a producer body which advocates for the metal, said last month that it’s working with the Indian government to create a spot gold exchange that may start up as soon as next year. The WGC has also said it supports cutting the import tax.