Gold Import Duty Hike Fears Sink Titan, Senco, Kalyan Among Jewellery Stocks Up To 11%

Gold Stocks: Gold-associated companies’ shares tanked up to 11 per cent on Monday, as speculations have risen over the possibility of a gold import duty hike in the coming days. Senco, Titan, Kalyan Jewellers, Sky Gold and Diamonds hit the hardest, with their shares falling as much as 11 per cent intra-day in the morning session.

The sharp drop came a day after PM Narendra Modi appealed to citizens of India to avoid buying gold for a year, as a measure to reduce the exodus of India’s forex reserve and cut down the bill.

India is one of the world’s largest consumers of gold. The country consumes around 700-800 tonnes of gold every year but produces barely 1-2 tonnes domestically. This means India depends on imports for more than 90 per cent of its

gold requirement.

India’s gold imports surge to a record $72 billion in the financial year 2025-26, a 24 per cent jump compared with $58 billion in FY25.

PM Modi’s appeal came at a time when India is facing rising external pressures on its forex reserve due to elevated global commodity prices..

Currently, India has kept the import of gold in all forms to a 6 per cent,  including 5 percent basic customs duty (BCD) and 1 percent agriculture infrastructure and development cess (AIDC).

Gold Import Duty Hike On Cards?

Following PM Modi’s appeal, speculations are rising that the government may consider increasing gold import duty soon as a measure to demotivate consumers. A higher gold import duty implies that the making of gold jewellery will become costlier, discouraging consumers to purchase it.

The strengthening of US Dollar and weakening of the Indian rupee, coupled with elevated crude oil prices, have put pressure on India’s forex reserve, leading to a substantial outflow of dollars.

India’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $690.7 billion as of the week ended May 1, 2026, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This is down from an all-time high of $728.5 billion hit in late February 2026. The fall comes on costlier crude oil and a weaker rupee amid the West Asia conflict.

This has prompted India PM Narendra Modi to appeal its citizens to take necessary measures, including avoiding purchasing gold, foreign weddings, work from home among other things.

Senco Gold MD and CEO Suvankar Sen said that a hike in gold import duty could lead to a drop of 10-12 per cent in import volumes, according to CNBC TV-18.