Rules of Origin for gold in unwrought form, 99.5% purity or higher — Dubai (UAE) to India
HS 71081210 · GOLD · Rules of Origin & preferential rate
Data last updated: · MFN duty & IGST verified against ICEGATE (Indian Customs EDI). Rules of Origin per CEPA Annex 3B. Verify your exact HS line before filing.
Import restricted
Gold and silver are Restricted under India's ITC(HS) import policy: only nominated agencies, nominated banks and qualified jewellers may import them, and CEPA tariff-rate-quota gold must be routed through the India International Bullion Exchange at GIFT City. An ordinary IEC holder cannot import these lines directly. source ↗
- CEPA eligible
- Excluded
- Value addition (RVC)
- 40%
- Tariff-classification change
- none Annex 3B rule set at sub-heading level
- MFN → CEPA basic duty
- 10% → 10%
Rule of Origin (CEPA Annex 3B, primary source): CEPA Annex 3B special rule (e.g. certified good-delivery bars / melt-and-pour) — verify the exact heading before relying.
Qualifying under the Rules of Origin
Gold in unwrought form, 99.5% purity or higher (HS 71081210) is currently excluded from India's India–UAE CEPA tariff offer, so no preferential rate applies regardless of origin. For reference, the Product-Specific Rule for this line is "CEPA Annex 3B special rule (e.g. certified good-delivery bars / melt-and-pour) — verify the exact heading before relying". That rule is written for this sub-heading specifically in Annex 3B, rather than inherited from the chapter — one of a small number of lines in this corpus where the product-specific rule genuinely is product-specific. Unwrought fine gold — bars and ingots at 99.5% and above — is the single largest item in the India–UAE trade by value, which is precisely why it is excluded from the general CEPA concession. India instead grants a limited tariff-rate quota with a small margin, routed through the India International Bullion Exchange, rather than opening the duty to zero. Outside that quota the full rate applies. Note that this is an HS-2022 code with no direct line in Annex 2A, which is written in HS-2017: its predecessor receives the one-point concession inside the shared 200-tonne quota, but carrying that across a nomenclature re-cut would be an inference, so the conservative position stands here. Treat this line as a channel question first — without nominated-agency or qualified-jeweller status, direct import is not available at any duty rate. Because the line is excluded, customs charges the 10% MFN rate. Confirm eligibility against India's CEPA tariff schedule before assuming any benefit.
Check your own figures in the Rules of Origin (RVC) qualifier. Qualifying is only half of it — the preference is claimed with a Certificate of Origin, issued in the UAE before shipment or retrospectively within 12 months.
Frequently asked questions
- Does gold in unwrought form, 99.5% purity or higher qualify for India–UAE CEPA?
- No — this line is currently excluded from India's CEPA tariff offer, so the preferential rate does not apply regardless of origin.
- What is the Rule of Origin for gold in unwrought form, 99.5% purity or higher?
- Per CEPA Annex 3B: CEPA Annex 3B special rule (e.g. certified good-delivery bars / melt-and-pour) — verify the exact heading before relying.. RVC% = [(FOB − value of non-originating materials) / FOB] × 100 (FOB basis).
- What proof is needed at import?
- A preferential Certificate of Origin filed through eCoO 2.0, presented at customs before clearance. Without it, the 10% MFN duty applies.