New Delhi, Feb 1: India has raised the base import price of gold by 5.7 percent to $556 per 10 grams and that of silver by 12 percent to $1067 a kilogram.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs issued a notification to this effect Tuesday, the finance ministry said in a statement Wednesday. 

The base price is the rate at which imports are taxed, irrespective of the purchase price, to prevent under-invoicing.

Market analysts see the government move as a measure to raise revenues as it struggles to meet the fiscal deficit target of 4.6 percent of the gross domestic product.

India is the world's largest importer and consumer of gold and silver. 

The government last month had raised gold import duty by 90 percent and doubled the tax on silver.