Amid clamour from various quarters that curbs on gold be relaxed, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said it will evaluate the proposal if and when a request comes from the government.
?Provided there is a reason, logic or if somebody is facing difficulty, we will take a view,? KC Chakrabarty, deputy governor of RBI, told reporters after a panel discussion on ?Gold and its status in India? at IIM-B.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had written to the commerce ministry to look at a request by the gems and jewellery industry for a cut in gold import duty. The All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation had earlier written to Sonia, demanding reduction in import duty on gold to 2% from 10% to encourage exports and curb smuggling. It had also demanded relaxation of an RBI rule requiring that 20% of imported gold has to be exported. ?We cannot be expected to act on news reports. We take actions based on our analysis and reports. It depends on what proposal we get,? Chakrabarty said. He said that RBI has no data on smuggling and, if it is happening, the central bank?s administrative policies should stop that or enforcement authorities should step in.