CBIC Cuts Duty Drawback Rates on Gold and Silver Jewellery Exports

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has reduced the duty drawback rates available on exports of gold and silver jewellery and articles. The cut is made through Notification No. 85/2026-Customs (N.T.), dated 15 October 2026, which amends the principal drawback notification, No. 77/2023-Customs (N.T.) dated 20 October 2023. Gold jewellery drawback falls by about 3.1% and silver jewellery and articles by nearly 9%.

If you export jewellery under the All Industry Rate (AIR) drawback scheme, your remission per unit has just gone down — and your cost sheets and pricing need updating.

What Happened

The notification revises the drawback figures in column (4) of the schedule for three tariff items under Chapter 71:

• 711301 — Jewellery and parts, of gold: rate cut from 1851.99 to 1794.11 (about a 3.13% reduction)
• 711302 — Jewellery and parts, of silver: rate cut from 29501.09 to 26859.02 (about an 8.96% reduction)
• 711401 — Articles of silver: rate cut from 29501.09 to 26859.02 (about an 8.96% reduction)

The amendment changes only the figures, not the item descriptions. The principal notification was last amended by Notification No. 64/2026-Customs (N.T.), dated 16 July 2026, which had revised these same rates.

Why / Background

Duty drawback is a mechanism that refunds exporters the customs duties and certain taxes embedded in the inputs used to make exported goods — in jewellery's case, largely the duty content on imported gold and silver. The All Industry Rates are periodically recalibrated to track movements in metal prices and duty rates. Because the drawback amounts for precious-metal jewellery are expressed as fixed figures linked to the value of the metal content, they are sensitive to changes in gold and silver prices and in the basic customs duty on bullion. This reduction follows an earlier upward revision in July 2026, so the latest change is a recalibration rather than a new policy direction.

Who's Affected

• Gems and jewellery exporters claiming All Industry Rate drawback on gold and silver jewellery and silver articles.
• Customs House Agents (CHAs) filing shipping bills with drawback claims for Chapter 71 goods.
• Exporters pricing forward orders for the festive and wedding season, whose margins assumed the earlier, higher drawback.

What Jewellery Exporters and CHAs Should Do Now

• Update drawback figures in your cost sheets for tariff items 711301, 711302 and 711401 before filing new shipping bills.
• Check the cut-off. Reports indicate the revised rates apply from 15 October 2026; confirm the exact effective date on the notification and ensure shipping bills are claimed at the rate applicable on the relevant date.
• Re-price pending quotations. Orders quoted on the July 2026 (higher) drawback now carry a lower remission — revisit margins where the contract allows.
• Reconcile claims already filed around the changeover date to avoid short or excess claims that trigger queries.
• Brief your CHA and ERP/drawback software so shipping bills auto-populate the new figures.
• Revisit the AIR-vs-brand-rate choice. If your actual duty incidence is higher than the reduced All Industry Rate, assess whether a brand rate (special brand rate) claim is worth pursuing.

The Bigger Picture

Gems and jewellery is one of India's largest export sectors by value, and even small drawback changes translate into meaningful sums at scale. The timing — just ahead of the festive and wedding demand cycle — means exporters booking new orders should build the revised remission into their pricing now. Because these fixed-figure rates move with metal prices and bullion duty, exporters should expect periodic recalibration and treat drawback as a variable to monitor, not a constant.

Frequently Asked Questions

By how much have the rates been cut? Gold jewellery drawback is reduced by about 3.13% (1851.99 to 1794.11) and silver jewellery and silver articles by about 8.96% (29501.09 to 26859.02).

Which tariff items are affected? Tariff items 711301 (gold jewellery), 711302 (silver jewellery) and 711401 (articles of silver) under Chapter 71.

When do the new rates apply? The revision is reported to apply from 15 October 2026. Confirm the exact effective date against the notification, as the relevant date for a claim is tied to the shipping bill.

Does this affect RoDTEP or IGST refunds? No. This changes only the All Industry Rate duty drawback for these items. Other export benefits, such as RoDTEP or IGST refunds, operate under their own rules and are unaffected by this notification.

Conclusion

For gold and silver jewellery exporters, this is a direct hit to per-unit remission that should be reflected in cost sheets and pricing immediately. Update your drawback figures for the three affected tariff items, confirm the effective date, and reconcile any claims straddling the changeover.

This article is for general guidance only. Verify the exact rates, tariff items and effective date against CBIC Notification No. 85/2026-Customs (N.T.) at cbic.gov.in before acting.