Yellow metal surges after government increases import duty, check city-wise gold rates per 10 grams

Gold prices surged significantly after the government increased the import duty on gold from 6 per cent to 15 per cent on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. According to the government, the move will curb non-essential imports amid the West Asia crisis, which has put pressure on forex reserves. The new import duty is effective from today. Not just gold and silver, the duty on platinum has been raised from 6.4 per cent to 15.4 per cent. Consequential changes have also been made to other items such as gold/silver dore, coins, findings, etc.

The import duty on gold and silver came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clarion call for curbs on gold purchases, along with other austerity measures to reduce avoidable foreign exchange expenditure.

Why there's a surge in gold, silver prices

According to Anindya Banerjee, Head of Commodity and Currency Research, Kotak Securities, the increase in prices of gold and silver is not a fundamental rally but a mechanical re-pricing to a new import duty.

"What we are seeing in domestic prices today is a mechanical re-pricing to a new import parity, not a fundamental rally. The duty is now a fixed cost embedded in the price. From here, gold and silver in India will continue to be driven by what they have always been driven by — the international LBMA spot price, the USD/INR exchange rate, and the domestic premium or discount over import parity. The duty has done its job and become a sunk cost," Banerjee said.

City-wise gold rates per 10 grams

Imports from Dubai may rise 

The increase in import duties on gold and silver may lead to an increase in imports from Dubai via the free trade agreement, think tank GTRI said on Wednesday.

It said that the duty hike also sharply changes the economics of precious metal imports routed through the United Arab Emirates under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).