New Delhi : The government has identified the non-essential items whose imports it will try to curb, a senior finance ministry official said on Monday.
“We have finalised the list of imports on which curbs can be imposed,” the official said. “The government is more likely to use tariffs rather than non-tariff barriers,” the official added, mentioning precious stones, electronic goods, and “certain steel items” as those which may see higher import duties.
Gold is unlikely to be included in the list of goods on which import curbs can be imposed as it may encourage smuggling of the precious metal, the official said.
The government currently levies a 10 per cent import duty on gold.
The current account deficit rose to its highest level in five years in April-June as the merchandise trade deficit continued to balloon. At $15.81 billion, the current account deficit was the highest for a quarter since $21.77 billion in April-June 2013.