The government has imposed some import curbs on certain waste and scrap of precious metals, according to a notification of the commerce ministry.

Imports of these items were free earlier. Now, it has been put under a restricted category, which means an importer will have to seek a license or permission from the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) to import these goods.

The goods include ash containing precious metal or precious metal compounds; of platinum, including metal clad with platinum but excluding sweepings containing other precious metals; and other sweepings containing gold or silver.

The DGFT amended the import policy for ash containing precious metal or precious metal compounds, including gold, platinum and silver, to “restricted” from “free”.

“Import policy…has been revised from Free to Restricted with immediate effect,” the DGFT has said in a notification.

India’s imports of these goods in April-February FY22 were US$ 36.6 million as against US$ 72 million in 2020-21.