Ahmedabad: Gujarat’s silver imports once again touched a record high of 1,561.84 metric tonnes (MT) in the 2023-24 financial year. However, about 77% of the total silver imports — about 1,206 MT — took place from Jan to March.Notably, this is just after the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) began with silver trading. Silver price stood at Rs 81,000 per kg in the Ahmedabad market on Monday.The surge in silver imports is attributed to a combination of factors including simplified and transparent trading on the IIBX and the duty discount that buyers can avail of by procuring gold from the UAE under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).According to data by IIBX, some 908.8 MT of silver was imported from IIBX in FY 2024. This means, about 61% of the total silver imports into the state in FY 2024 took place through the bullion exchange.Market sources revealed that IIBX drove a significant chunk of silver imports into Gujarat because of the ease of trading. Industry sources indicated that a key factor is also the bullion free trade warehousing zone (FTWZ) being set up at GIFT City. At an FTWZ, silver can be vaulted at no duty and tax payments.Duty difference is also a major factor that drove the rise in silver imports through the UAE route.“When imported under the CEPA provisions, silver imports currently attract 8% duty. This was at 9% till March 2023. Compared to this, other routes attract about 15% basic customs duty on silver imports. Moreover, ever since IIBX began enabling trading of silver mid-December, it came with provisions of CEPA too. This made it an attractive proposition for silver importers,” said Haresh Acharya, director, India Bullion and Jewellers’ Association (IBJA).Sources also said that with the FTWZ getting operational, a number of international banks have also procured silver to be vaulted at GIFT City.Stable prices were among the other reasons for significant increase in silver imports. “When gold prices were highly volatile, silver prices maintained a greater degree of stability particularly in March. Silver has a significant amount of industrial as well as retail applications and therefore, anticipating more volatility in prices, silver was imported in relatively larger volumes,” Acharya explained.Sources also said people are investing in silver in a big way, anticipating a price rise in the wake of an uncertain geopolitical and global economic situation in the coming days.