Kolkata, May 30 (PTI) West Bengal-based Senco Gold & Diamonds on Tuesday said it has started importing yellow metal through the India International Bullion Exchange, following the integration of the customs ICEGATE platform.

The jeweller imported 21 kg of gold in its debut transaction on the IIBX.

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However, this transaction was not part of the tariff rate quota, which allows one per cent duty benefit for importing gold under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and UAE, the official said.

According to the agreement, gold imported from the UAE under the CEPA will attract one per cent less duty.

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Senco claimed to have become the first qualified jeweller from the eastern part of the country to import gold through the bourse in the financial SEZ.

Jewellers can now directly import gold through IIBX, a change from the existing rules which only allow banks or nominated agencies to do so.

"We have completed our first trade successfully, where the bullion depository receipts (BDR) got settled within 30 minutes. With this, we also became the first company from East India to trade gold post-ICEGATE implementation. It is an important milestone for us. Importing gold through the platform will provide us with the advantage of price discovery," Senco MD & CEO Suvankar Sen said.

Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange Gateway (ICEGATE) is the portal of the customs, which facilitates an interface between trade users and the department for international trading.

The exchange was launched in the GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) in July 2022 to act as the gateway for bullion imports into India.

The aim is to channelise all the bullion imports for domestic consumption.

ICEGATE integration with IIBX will help boost trading volume on the bourse, the official said.

There are now 91 certified jewellers who can take advantage of direct import through the platform.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)