New Delhi, Aug 26 (KNN) In order to put a check on the rising imports of gold and silver from South Korea, the government has ordered fresh restrictions on the import of these items from the said country.

For an importer to import gold and silver from South Korea, it is now made mandatory to obtain licence from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

The restrictions comes as a response to the reports of rising imports of the gold and silver from South Korea under the free trade agreement between the two countries that was in effect from January 2010. Under the free trade agreement, the basic customs duty was exempted.

According to the data, gold imports from South Korea registered a high of 338 Million dollars between July and August during the present fiscal, whereas imports in the previous year stood at 70.46 million dollars.

India at present is the second biggest consumer of Gold after China on a global scale. (KNN/ DA)