Indian Gold Book:Indian Gold Book - Gold Bars Worldwide

BULLION IMPORTERS
The official import of gold bullion for the domestic market occurs through two authorised Government
schemes:
• Open General Licence (OGL) scheme – imports from November 1997.
• Non-Resident Indian (NRI) scheme – imports from March 1992.
Since 1990, an estimated 5,246 tonnes have been imported officially and unofficially.
OGL 2,274 tonnes
NRI 1,352 tonnes
SIL 157 tonnes (no longer in operation)
Unofficial 1,463 tonnes
The OGL scheme accounted for 99% of official imports in 2001. Its share of total imports was about 90%.
OPEN GENERAL LICENCE (OGL)
Since 30 August 1997, 24 banks and public sector undertakings have been authorised to import gold.
Although commonly referred to as the “Open General Licence” scheme, it is restricted to authorised entities only.
There are 4 categories of authorised importers.
Category Number Active in 2001
Public Sector Banks 12 6
Public Sector Undertakings 4 4
Private Sector Banks 3 -
Foreign Banks 5 4
Total 24 14
The number of banks recorded above includes 3 banks authorised by the Reserve Bank in 2002: Union Bank of India (Public
Sector Bank), and ICICI Bank Ltd and The HDFC Bank Ltd (Private Sector Banks). They are not covered in this report as
they are in the process of becoming active.
NON-RESIDENT INDIAN (NRI) SCHEME
In March 1992, NRI’s were allowed to import up to 5 kg of gold bullion every 6 months. The amount was increased to
10 kg in January 1997.
The NRI scheme accounted for 1,249 tonnes, 85% of official imports and 61% of total imports, between 1992 and 1997.
NRI imports are now reported as negligible, due to the dominance of bank importers.
SPECIAL IMPORT LICENCE (SIL)
Between April 1994 and March 2001, authorised exporters could use part of their foreign earnings to import gold. The
licences were tradable.
Over the period of 7 years, the SIL scheme accounted for 4% (157 tonnes) of total imports.
IMPORT SCHEMES FOR JEWELLERY EXPORTERS
Jewellery exporters have been able to import or obtain imported bars for re-export as jewellery since the late 1970s.
The main schemes are recorded in the chapter on “Gold Jewellery”.
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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN GOLD MARKET