The government has tightened import controls on select platinum jewellery categories by imposing licensing requirements until April 30, 2026, to curb misuse of free trade agreements (FTAs), particularly with ASEAN nations. A DGFT notification revised the import policy for these items from “Free” to “Restricted,” making licences mandatory for imports.

The government on Monday restricted imports of unstudded articles of platinum jewellery until 30 April 2026, following the misuse of the zero per cent import clause.Until now, such articles, with 90% gold content, could be freely imported. However, some traders were importing these at zero duty from Indonesia under the India-Asean free trade agreement over the past few weeks and converting them into gold bars, evading the 6% duty on gold imports.

Officials said the step follows instances of traders exploiting duty differentials under the India-ASEAN FTA to route precious metals into India by declaring them as unstudded jewellery. Thailand has been identified as a key source of such practices. Authorities noted that some traders were attempting to bypass tariffs for quick gains, and the new restrictions aim to prevent such circumvention while strengthening rules of origin for future compliance. Consignments were landing at Amritsar and Delhi airports, and the jewellery was melted and converted into platinum bars, which were then sold in the domestic market, evading a 6.4% duty on such bars due to their 90% gold content.