It is a quiet day for fresh, verifiable PGM news. The one confirmed development is a tax-policy disclosure out of India affecting bank imports of platinum alongside gold and silver, while the market continues to digest last week's shift in the WPIC's 2026 supply-demand outlook.
Top stories#
India tells GST Council that banks' platinum, gold and silver imports now carry 3% IGST#
India's Revenue Secretary, Arvind Shrivastava, told the Goods and Services Tax Council on 8 October that banks have been paying 3 per cent Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) on these imports since 1 April 2026, confirming that an exemption banks had previously enjoyed on bullion imports is no longer in effect. That exemption was introduced in 2017, when banks and nominated agencies were allowed to import precious metals without paying IGST, a gap the government says it is closing because participants importing precious metals through bullion exchanges pay customs duty and 3 per cent IGST upfront, unlike banks under the old rule. Reuters coverage of the same disclosure reported separately that Indian banks had not had the tax benefit extended and have been paying a 3% integrated goods and services tax since April, local media reported on Friday, citing the revenue secretary, corroborating the timeline. For PGM markets, the change is procedural rather than disruptive, since banks have already been absorbing the levy for roughly six months, but it confirms that India's bank-import channel for platinum now sits on the same tax footing as bullion-exchange imports. See DailyPlatinum's Platinum Price in India page for the local price context this affects.
One line of older context: Sibanye-Stillwater's Montana PGM operations returned to work after a wage deal ended a month-long strike, as DailyPlatinum reported on 7 and 8 October; no new development has surfaced since.
Prices and market context#
Platinum has traded well below its all-time high of $2,923/oz, set on 26 January 2026 on a WPIC basis, since the World Platinum Investment Council's most recent Platinum Quarterly, published 9 September 2026, revised its 2026 forecast to a 265 koz surplus, a reversal from the 297 koz deficit it had projected in its Q1 2026 edition. The same report revised the 2025 market deficit upward to more than 1 million ounces and put above-ground stocks at roughly 3.4 months of demand by the end of 2026. That swing from deficit to surplus expectations remains the key structural backdrop for platinum pricing. For current and historical pricing, see DailyPlatinum's Platinum Price Today, Platinum Price Chart and Platinum Price History pages.
What to watch#
- Confirmation of Sibanye-Stillwater's production ramp-up at its Montana operations following the strike settlement, as flagged in the company's own post-strike comments.
- Any further guidance from India's GST Council on bullion-import tax treatment following the 8 October disclosure.
Sources
- BW Businessworld, "Govt Withdraws Tax Benefit For Banks On Gold, Silver And Platinum Imports", https://www.businessworld.in/article/govt-withdraws-tax-benefit-for-banks-on-gold-silver-and-platinum-imports-627646
- TradingView (Reuters), "India withdraws bank tax benefit on gold, silver, platinum imports", https://www.tradingview.com/news/reuters.com,2026:newsml_L4N45V0A2:0-india-withdraws-bank-tax-benefit-on-gold-silver-platinum-imports/