NEW DELHI: The government has not banned banks from selling gold coins, Parliament has been informed. “The government has not banned banks from selling gold coins. However, RBI has prohibited import of gold in form of coins and medallions,” Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said in a written reply to Lok Sabha last Friday. Seeking to reduce the import of gold, the Reserve Bank on August 14 had prohibited inward shipment of gold coins, medallions and dores without licence. The measure was part of the series of steps taken to curb gold import, the single biggest contributor to the widening Current Account Deficit (CAD). After a dip in June, gold imports had again surged in July with 47 tonnes of inward shipments compared to 31 tonnes in the previous month. Import of gold in April-July had risen 87 per cent to 383 tonnes.
The country’s central bank had said that it shall be incumbent on all nominated banks, agencies and other entities to ensure that at least one-fifth, or 20 per cent, of every lot of import of gold is exclusively made available for the purpose of exports and the balance for domestic use. It had further stipulated that nominate banks, agencies and other entities shall make available gold for domestic use only to the entities engaged in jewellery business, bullion dealers and banks authorised to administer the gold deposit scheme against whole upfront payment.
Source:PTI
Source:Bullion Bulletin