Under the India-UAE comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), a Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) mechanism was put in place for the import of gold bullion at a concessional rate of duty (a 1 per cent concession over the prevailing customs duty).
The pact came into force on May 1, 2022.
According to the data, total gold imports stood at 795 tonnes in 2023-24 and 757 tonnes in 2024-25. The share of imports under the TRQ mechanism was only about 5 per cent (40 tonnes) and 18 per cent (about 140 tonnes), respectively, the official said.
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In 2025-26, the allocated quantity under the mechanism was 8.58 tonnes. India has imported 721 tonnes in the last fiscal.
“Actual utilisation under this TRQ has been modest, and in the most recent periods, marginal,” the official said.The government has increased the import duty on gold from 6 per cent to 15 per cent. The effective duty (which includes IGST), however, increased from 9.2 per cent to 18.4 per cent. The 3 per cent IGST is levied on the assessable value of gold, which comprises the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value along with the basic customs duty (BCD).
BCD has been increased from 5 per cent to 10 per cent, and the agriculture infrastructure and development cess (AIDC) from 1 per cent to 5 per cent.
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As per provisional figures, India’s exports to the UAE rose about 2 per cent to USD 37.36 billion in 2025-26 from USD 36.63 billion in 2024-25, while imports grew 0.77 per cent to USD 63.89 billion in the last fiscal from USD 63.4 billion in 2024-25.
The two countries are aiming for a USD 100 billion non-oil trade by 2030.
On the foreign direct investment front, the UAE ranks as India’s 7th largest investor, driving USD 25.1 billion in FDI equity inflows from April 2000 to September 2025.
FDI inflows from the UAE increased from USD 5.57 billion in the pre-CEPA period (2019-20 to 2021-22) to USD 9.75 billion in the post-CEPA period (2022-23 to 2024-25), reflecting nearly 75 per cent growth.