November 11: The government has increased customs duty on gold to discourage “smuggling” of the precious yellow metal. The government has increased the customs duty for gold imported for trade from Rs 5000 per 10 gram to Rs 6500.

Likewise, gold imported for personal use will be charged Rs 7500 per 10 grams, Rs 800 up from the earlier rate of Rs 6200. The same new rate will be applied for import of gold up to 50 grams.

Joint Secretary Dhani Ram Sharma, chief of the Revenue Management Department under the Ministry of Finance, said that the customs duty has been increased to discourage smuggling of gold.

Sharma said that Nepal is used as a transit point to smuggle gold to India when there is fluctuation in price of gold in India.

He further said that the government decided to raise the tariff on gold to make it on par with the customs duty imposed by India.

Dealers of gold and silver had also been demanding increase of customs duty stating that gold and silver were being smuggled to India taking advantage of the tariff difference.

The difference in price of gold in Nepal and India appeared after the Indian government increased tax on import of gold by two percent some time ago.

Former president of the Federation of Nepal Gold Silver Dealers Association, Tej Ratna Shakya, said that the latest decision of the government will discourage smuggling of gold to India.

The increase in customs duty has also impacted the price of gold in the local market. The price has been increased by Rs 1100 per tola (11 grams approx).