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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said in the case of gold imports pertaining to Advance Authorisation (AA) / Duty Free Import Authorisation (DFIA), the requirement of sequencing imports prior to exports shall not be insisted upon. This would be the case even for entities/units in the special economic zones and export-oriented units (EOUs). According to RBI, imports made as a part of the AA/DFIA scheme will be outside the purview of the 20:80 scheme. Under this, it is required at least 20 per cent of every lot of gold import is exclusively made available for the purpose of exports and the balance for domestic use.
According to RBI banks/agencies and entities may make available gold to the exporters (other than AA/DFIA holders) operating under the Replenishment Scheme. “They can resort to import of gold for the purpose, if considered necessary. However, such import will be accounted for separately and will not entitle them for any further import,” said RBI.
