India’s gold and silver imports revised higher, pushing total bill up by $7.06 billion

The government has revised India’s gold and silver import data for 2024, increasing gold imports by 12% (87.72 tonnes) and silver imports by 10% (692.77 tonnes), according to an analysis of commerce ministry data.  

The Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS) now estimates gold imports at 812.22 tonnes, up from the earlier 724.50 tonnes. Silver imports have been adjusted to 7,669.40 tonnes from 6,976.63 tonnes — marking the second-highest annual import after the record 9,534.41 tonnes in 2022, according to a report in Informist.  

The revisions affect data for July through October. Gold imports were increased by 11.38 tonnes to 47.72 tonnes in July, by 57.44 tonnes to 175.41 tonnes in August, by 16.18 tonnes to 61.90 tonnes in September, and by 2.72 tonnes to 60.64 tonnes in October. The August import figure was the second-highest for any month, after 176.94 tonnes in April 2021, the report added.  

Silver imports saw upward revisions of 865 kg to 103.31 tonnes in July, 65.69 tonnes to 103.31 tonnes in August, 292.72 tonnes to 594 tonnes in September, and 333.49 tonnes to 469.16 tonnes in October, as per the report.  

In monetary terms, the revised import value for gold between April and December rose to $48.51 billion from $42.09 billion, while silver imports increased to $3.39 billion from $2.75 billion. The total import bill for gold and silver in the first nine months of 2024-25 was raised by $7.06 billion.  

This marks the second time the DGCIS has revised gold and silver import data for the current fiscal year. In January, the government adjusted trade figures after concerns were raised about data accuracy, particularly for gold imports. A detailed review was conducted with the Director General of Systems and Data Management and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in December.  

The reassessment revealed discrepancies stemming from a system migration. Due to a shift in data transmission mechanisms from special economic zones (SEZs) to the Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange Gateway, the system mistakenly counted both imports into SEZs and their subsequent clearance into the domestic market as separate transactions.