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Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale has raised a shocking question about Gujarat's GIFT City on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), pointing to a large-scale 'silver scam' being carried out by GIFT City. Concern has also been raised about this and a thorough investigation has been demanded.
Saket Gokhale wrote in his social media post that 'a very strange activity' has been coming to the fore for the last eight months. Serious concern has been expressed about this. Giving details about this, he said, 'Is there a big silver scam going on in Gujarat through GIFT City?' In the post titled 'Is there a big silver scam going on in Gujarat through GIFT City?', he wrote that since December 2023, all silver exports from UAE to India are happening through GIFT City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. He said that India levies 15 percent import duty on silver. Only institutions recognized by RBI and DGFT are allowed to import silver. He also wrote that for some strange reason, this rule does not apply to GIFT City in Gujarat, where any private player (anyone) can import silver.'
Gokhale further said that under the agreement between the UAE and India, silver can be imported at a minimum 8 percent import duty, but the condition is that it should meet the requirements of “rules of origin”. In this post, the MP has expressed some concerns which are as follows…
– Banks and other institutions importing silver from UAE through other ports in India have not been allowed to import at 8%. The customs department has done this alleging failure to comply with the rules of origin.
– However, all silver imported from UAE through GIFT City in Gujarat is allowed 8% import duty without any problem.
– As a result, for the last eight months, silver is being imported to India from UAE only through Gujarat route.
1. How can only GIFT City of Gujarat allow private players, who are not designated by RBI and DGFT, to import silver?
2. Why is there no 8% discount on silver imports from UAE through other ports of the country? Why is the discount only available on silver imported from Gujarat?
3. On what basis has Gujarat's GIFT City been allowed monopoly on import of silver from UAE for 8 months?
A business research firm called GTRI investigated the entire matter
and also said that this 'special treatment' given to the gift city of Gujarat will have a negative impact not only on the silver trade but also on other precious metals.
