VOI World/ Desk
India and the UAE have reviewed progress under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, focusing on gold imports, market access and licensing norms as New Delhi flagged a widening trade deficit driven largely by precious metal shipments.
At the third India-UAE CEPA Joint Committee meeting held on Thursday, Indian officials briefed their counterparts on measures introduced to curb misuse of trade provisions, especially in the import of gold and silver. India’s imports from the UAE surged over 32 per cent in FY25 to 63.40 billion dollars, while exports grew only 2.84 per cent to 36.63 billion dollars, pushing the deficit to 26.77 billion dollars.
Indian officials highlighted that CEPA, which came into force in May 2022, had resulted in disproportionate benefits for the UAE and stressed the need for stricter oversight. They detailed new steps such as moving several precious metal items to the restricted list, requiring licences for imports and shifting the gold tariff rate quota allocation to a competitive online bidding process managed through the DGFT’s Import Management System.
Under CEPA, India allows gold imports from the UAE at a concessional tariff of about one per cent, but applicants must meet hallmarking and GST registration requirements. New Delhi reiterated the need to prevent circumvention of rules by unscrupulous players.
Both sides agreed to improve trade facilitation, regulatory cooperation, data sharing and the functioning of various CEPA subcommittees. The UAE delegation also met senior Indian officials to discuss optimum implementation of the agreement.
