India Worried About Surging Silver Imports From UAE: Report

This increase in imports follows the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) inked between India and the UAE which became effective in May 2022

The authorities are concerned about the recent surge in silver imports from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since the beginning of the current calendar year, media reports said.

According to a report by Business Standard, the government is worried about a 647-times jump in silver imports from the UAE in 2024. The Indian government plans to take up the issue with Abu Dhabi soon, the report said citing sources.

This increase in imports follows the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) inked between India and the UAE which became effective in May 2022. The official data revealed that the overall import of the metal inched 10 times higher during the first four months of the current year (from January to April) to $3.16 billion.

Notably, UAE now remains the largest source of silver imports for India as it accounted for 45 per cent of the overall imports of the metal. As of a year earlier, the United Arab Emirates didn’t even rank in India’s top five import partners for silver.

The report cited a source in the know and said, “The government has been actively looking into the matter to understand the reason behind the surge contrary to its (India’s) expectation. India plans to share its concerns with the UAE.”

During the period under review, the imports from UAE touched $1.44 billion, against $2.2 million a year earlier. India currently levies an import duty of 15 per cent on silver.

As part of the India-UAE CEPA, the import duty stands at 8 per cent and provides a 7 percentage point duty benefit to the UAE. The terms also state that India will gradually reduce the duty to 0 per cent in the span of the next eight years.

The report noted that the Indian authorities will soon approach the UAE authorities regarding the matter.