The government, on Friday, slashed the import tariff value of gold to $507 per 10 grams and of silver to $871 a kg, following fall in global prices of the precious metals.
The tariff value, which is released fortnightly, is the base price on which the customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing. Earlier, the tariff value of gold stood at $524 per 10 grams and silver at $938 a kg.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) issued a notification in this regard, an official release said. At present, the import duty on gold and silver stood at 4 per cent and 6 per cent of the value, respectively.
In global markets, gold fell to the lowest level in almost four weeks amid signs of slowing U.S. growth and strengthening of dollar on speculation that European Union leaders will struggle to solve the debt crisis, silver slumped to the lowest level in 19 months.
In New York, gold dropped by 1.8 per cent to $1,550.40 an ounce, the largest decline since June 21. Silver also shed 2.6 per cent at $26.10 an ounce, the lowest since November 18, 2010.
