<p>The government on Wednesday imposed import restrictions on certain gold jewellery and articles, a move which would help cut import of non-essential items.</p>.<p>Now an importer would need a permission of licence from the government for importing these gold products.</p>.<p>However, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said that the restrictions will not be there for imports under the India-UAE free trade agreement.</p>.<p>In a notification, the DGFT said that the import policy of these products "has been amended from free to restricted with immediate effect".</p>.<p>Imports of pearls, precious and semi-precious stones dipped by 25.36 per cent to about $4 billion during April-May this fiscal. Gold imports too contracted by about 40 per cent to $4.7 billion in the same period.</p>.<p>Overall merchandise imports during April-May this fiscal declined 10.24 per cent to $107 billion. The merchandise trade deficit for April-May 2023 stood at $37.26 billion against $40.48 billion during April-May 2022.</p>
<p>The government on Wednesday imposed import restrictions on certain gold jewellery and articles, a move which would help cut import of non-essential items.</p>.<p>Now an importer would need a permission of licence from the government for importing these gold products.</p>.<p>However, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said that the restrictions will not be there for imports under the India-UAE free trade agreement.</p>.<p>In a notification, the DGFT said that the import policy of these products "has been amended from free to restricted with immediate effect".</p>.<p>Imports of pearls, precious and semi-precious stones dipped by 25.36 per cent to about $4 billion during April-May this fiscal. Gold imports too contracted by about 40 per cent to $4.7 billion in the same period.</p>.<p>Overall merchandise imports during April-May this fiscal declined 10.24 per cent to $107 billion. The merchandise trade deficit for April-May 2023 stood at $37.26 billion against $40.48 billion during April-May 2022.</p>