The Hindu Business Line : Govt to set up panel to review gold import norms

THE Government will soon set up a high-powered committee to review the existing regulatory framework on gold imports and recommend changes to enable the country to emerge as a gold trading hub, the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, said here on Saturday.

Inaugurating the International Gold Summit under the aegis of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), Mr Nath said the committee would also recommend measures for correcting the inverted duty structure of the yellow metal.

"We will appoint this committee in the next two to three days, which will go into the entire gamut of issues concerning gold. The committee will have representatives from the Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank, apart from the industry. It will give its report in six weeks and the recommendations would be taken up in the Budget," Mr Kamal Nath said.

The Committee will also look into the possibility of allowing banks to hedge in commodity futures markets and mutual funds to invest in gold, and permitting banks to have gold-linked savings schemes.

The Commerce Minister said the Government was keen on freeing the gold industry from archaic procedures and rules that have lost their relevance. "We want to simplify and rationalise them," he said. He added that changes in the Foreign Trade Policy would be made to allow import of eight carat gold, instead of 18 carat and above, freely under the replenishment scheme.

Mr Nath held that India could "no longer be looked as a price taker of gold, but also as price setter in the international market because of its status as the largest importer."

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