The hike in import duty on gold is designed to dampen import demand. The basic duty hike to 12.5 per cent from 7.5 per cent also has a load of 3 per cent goods and services tax (GST). In an exclusive interview with Shrimi Choudhary and Arup Roychoudhury, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Centre had kept the promises made to states and hence there was trust at the recently-held GST Council meeting. On broader economic issues, Sitharaman said while there were still uncertainties on the expenditure side of things, she was confident of a healthy tax revenue buoyancy