Official Gold Import Figures for Nov Revised Down by $5 Billion

Learn about the revised official gold import figures for November, reduced by $5 billion, and its implications for trade and economic analysis.

Table of Contents

Context: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has revised the gold import figures for November, reducing them by $5 billion from $14.8 billion to $9.9 billion.

Overview of Gold Import Data Revision

Initial Data: Gold imports for November 2024 were reported at $14.8 billion, leading to a record trade deficit of $38 billion.
Revised Data: Imports were adjusted downward by $5 billion to $9.8 billion, reducing the trade deficit to $33 billion.

Gold Imports

India is the world’s 2nd-largest gold consumer, and relies on imports to meet demand.
Import Sources: Switzerland (40% of total), 2. UAE (16%) 3. South Africa
Gold consumption: India is the second-largest consumer of gold in the world, after China.

Reason for Revised Data

Double Counting Issue:
- Errors occurred due to the migration of data transmission mechanisms from SEZ Online to ICEGATE (Indian Customs Electronic Gateway).
- Both imports into SEZs (treated as foreign territory) and subsequent clearances into the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) were recorded as separate transactions.
Technical Glitches:
- The migration process between SEZ Online and ICEGATE remains incomplete, leading to mutually exclusive data being transmitted by both systems to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS).
Committee formation: Union Govt. has formed a committee to create a robust mechanism for consistent trade data publication.

Likely double counting of gold shipments due to a transition in e-filing systems from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) to ICEGATE in July 2024.
Misclassification of gold movements in and out of Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange Gateway (ICEGATE)

ICEGATE is the national portal of Indian Customs of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
It is a centralized portal that provides a range of services for the Indian customs and trading community. Such as,
- E-filing: Services include filing Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills
- Online payments: Services like online duty payment
- Document tracking: Tracking the status of documents at Customs EDI.
It captures EXIM (Export-Import) data from all ports, including sea, land, airports and inland container depots.

India’s Trade Trends (April–November 2024)

Overall Exports

Total exports: $536.25 billion (up 7.61% from $498.33 billion in 2023).
Key contributors: Electronic goods, Engineering goods, Rice and Ready-made garments.
Major Export Destinations: US, UAE, Netherlands, UK and Singapore.