Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** India’s decision to cut gold jewelry import duties from 25% to 20% marks a strategic move to attract foreign luxury brands like Bvlgari and Cartier, as the country outpaces global demand. This reduction signals a more open market for high-end jewelry.
India has reduced import duties on gold jewelry from 25% to 20%, providing some relief to foreign jewelry brands seeking to expand their market in the country. Bvlgari, Cartier, Tiffany, and Chopard are among the major foreign brands selling jewelry in India.
India significantly reduces import duties on gold jewelry in 2025. Pictured: Indian actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu wearing Bvlgari Serpenti jewelry (DR)
The tariff reduction comes at a time when India has surpassed global demand for gold jewelry, eclipsing China, according to annual figures published by the World Gold Council.
This year, in its annual budget, India announced a reduction in import duties on gold jewelry from 25% to 20%, and on certain platinum jewelry components from 25% to 5%, effective February 2025. Last year, India had reduced import duties on gold bullion and coins (excluding jewelry) from 15% to 6%, the lowest duties in nearly a decade, benefiting local jewelry manufacturers. Notably, Switzerland is the largest exporter of gold to India.
In 2024, Indian demand for gold jewelry stood at approximately 563 tonnes, significantly more than mainland China’s 479 tonnes. In fact, India surpassed not only China but also the Greater China region, which includes China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, which collectively recorded 511 tonnes of gold jewelry demand last year. Although India dominated the global ranking in 2024, demand was 2% lower than in 2023. Globally, annual gold jewelry consumption also fell by 11%.
India has reduced the basic import duty on fully assembled luxury cars (CBU) priced at $40,000 or more from 100% to 70%. However, several other duties levied on fully assembled cars in India have been simultaneously increased, offsetting the basic duty reduction. In reality, India has only restructured the duties on fully assembled luxury cars. The cumulative amount remains unchanged. Luxury car manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes have been assembling and producing cars in India for several years to avoid high duties on fully assembled vehicles, in order to meet the growing demand for luxury vehicles at competitive prices.