“There are two things in the context of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) – the first is value-added norms and the second is the reduction (in import duties). So we are in discussions with them and there are various issues that are being raised in the CEPA review. I think we are working with them on a review and once we get that, we will look at all the issues holistically,” Barthwal said in response to a question on rising silver imports.

“When you (a country) impose low tariffs (import duties), there are conditions to comply with the rules of origin. So when we do a review, we look at all aspects… whether the rules of origin are being complied with or not and what our next action will be,” Barthwal said.

To push for a review of the pact, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that the India-UAE CEPA allows unlimited imports of gold, silver, platinum and diamonds from the UAE to India without zero tariffs in the future few years.

This will result in significant annual revenue losses, shift import business from banks to a few private traders and replace key suppliers with Dubai-based companies, the GTRI report said.

This highlights that gold can currently be imported from Dubai with a 5 percent import duty, but that duty will drop to zero in three years if the alloy contains 2 percent platinum. GTRI also claims that many imports do not comply with the rules of origin and are therefore not eligible for concessions.