Indian gold refiners have increased imports of unrefined gold doré bars to take advantage of lower import duties compared to refined gold. The import duty on gold doré is 8% versus 10% for refined gold, a difference of around $25 per ounce which is higher than the $1-2 cost of refining. This has led to substantial growth in Indian gold doré refinement recently as companies capitalize on the cheaper import costs. India's gold refining capacity is estimated at 800 tonnes annually and refining doré is one way refiners keep costs low and build stocks of refined gold to meet demand.

1. Why is the Project Profitable?
http://www.primaryinfo.com/gold-dore-processing.htm

2. Indian refiners boost doré imports to
capitalise on cheaper import duty
 Refined gold is subject to 10-percent import duty
in India as opposed to eight percent on gold doré,
which at current prices equates to a differential of
$25 per ounce – much higher than the
approximate $1-2 cost of refining.
 Indian refinement of gold doré has increased
substantially of late, with firms said to be
capitalising on the differential in import duties to
bring metal into the country cheaply.

3. Growth for Refinery Plants
 India has refining capacity of an estimated 800 tonnes
per year.
 In May 2014, MMTC-PAMP became India’s first LBMA-
accredited refiner, primarily refining gold-based doré.
 In its 2014 trends report, the World Gold Council
claimed that India was the largest consumer of gold in
the world at 842.7 tonnes for the year.
 Refining doré bars is one means of keeping costs low,
of maintaining production while scrap supplies are
low and of building up stocks of refined metal to
satisfy demand that has built up in the interim.