Import duty on silver, unwrought — 99.9% purity or higher from Dubai (UAE) to India
HS 71069120 · Dubai / UAE → India · SILVER
Data last updated: · MFN duty & IGST verified against ICEGATE (Indian Customs EDI). CEPA preferential rate per the India–UAE CEPA schedule. Verify your exact HS line before filing.
Import restricted
DGFT lists this line as Restricted under ITC(HS) Schedule 1 (Import Policy), so it needs an import authorisation or must meet the stated condition — it is not freely importable. DGFT condition: Imports through nominated agencies notified by the Reserve Bank of India, in the case of banks, by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, in the case of other agencies, and by qualified jewellers as notified by the IFSCA for import through India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) shall be permitted only against a valid Import Authorisation issued by the DGFT. source ↗
Duty breakdown on a ₹10,00,000 shipment
Enter your own value to recalculate the table below.
| Component | Standard (MFN) | CEPA |
|---|---|---|
| Basic customs duty | ₹1,00,000 | ₹60,000 |
| Social Welfare Surcharge | ₹10,000 | ₹6,000 |
| IGST | ₹33,300 | ₹31,980 |
| Total duty | ₹1,43,300 | ₹97,980 |
CEPA duty saving on this example: ₹45,320 . Run your own numbers in the import-duty estimator. New to BCD, SWS and IGST? See the glossary.
What drives the rate
Importing silver, unwrought — 99.9% purity or higher (HS 71069120) from the UAE to India attracts a 10% MFN basic customs duty, and the India–UAE CEPA preferential rate is 6%. Fine silver at 99.9% or above is the investment- and industrial-grade form used in bullion, contacts and electronics, and it moves in large value lots through the Dubai-to-India channel. It carries a phased preferential duty, and an unusually light origin rule: Annex 3B sets value addition at 3% for this line, against the 40% that applies across most of the corpus, alongside the sub-heading change. That makes origin the easy part and documentation depth the hard part. On high-purity, high-value consignments customs verifies both assay and origin closely, and any gap between the refiner's certificate, the invoice and the Certificate of Origin invites a demand at the full MFN rate. Reconcile all three before filing. Silver is also Restricted under the ITC(HS) policy: only nominated agencies, nominated banks and qualified jewellers may import, so the channel question is settled before the rate question. The preference is worth 4.4% of assessable value on every consignment — the 4-point basic-duty gap plus the 10% Social Welfare Surcharge that rides on it — so it scales with shipment size rather than with effort, and the Certificate of Origin costs the same either way. Social Welfare Surcharge adds 10% on the basic duty, not on the goods, and IGST of 3% then applies to the CIF + BCD + SWS total — IGST is recoverable as input tax credit, so the durable benefit is the basic duty alone. Confirm the live rate on ICEGATE before filing; ₹10,00,000 is only the worked example above.
Import compliance & clearances
Beyond duty, importing silver, unwrought — 99.9% purity or higher (HS 71069120) into India requires the following regulatory clearances. The CEPA preferential rate does not waive any of these — they apply regardless of origin.
- DGFT Restricted — gold/silver importable only through nominated agencies / qualified jewellers; CEPA TRQ imports routed through IIBX source ↗
Indicative and non-exhaustive — verify the current DGFT / BIS / FSSAI / CDSCO notification for your exact 8-digit HS line before importing. Not customs or legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the import duty on silver, unwrought — 99.9% purity or higher from the UAE to India?
- The standard MFN basic customs duty is 10%; under India–UAE CEPA the preferential rate is 6%. SWS adds 10% on the basic duty and 3% IGST applies on the CIF + BCD + SWS base.
- How much can CEPA save on silver, unwrought — 99.9% purity or higher?
- On a CIF value of ₹10,00,000, total duty falls from ₹1,43,300 (MFN) to ₹97,980 (CEPA) — about ₹45,320 saved per shipment, scaling with consignment value.
- What do I need to claim the CEPA rate on silver, unwrought — 99.9% purity or higher?
- A valid preferential Certificate of Origin (eCoO 2.0) proving UAE origin under the Rules of Origin. Without it, customs charges the 10% MFN rate.