The trade deficit widened to $14.88 billion last month from $13.83 billion in November, data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed.
The trade deficit has widened by about $36.4 billion in the first three quarters of the current financial year to $114.86 billion. That could put pressure on the current account deficit of Asia's third largest economy.
India, the world's third biggest oil consumer, shipped in crude and refined products worth $10.35 billion, about 35 percent more than a year ago, largely due to a spurt in global oil prices.
Gold imports by India, the world's second biggest consumer of the precious metal after China, surged 71.5 percent to $3.4 billion, the data showed.
The country's overseas gold purchases in December stood at 70 tonnes, up 40 percent from a year ago, provisional data from precious metals consultancy GFMS showed.
Overall imports during December rose by 21.12 percent to $41.91 billion.
Exports during the month were up 12.36 percent to slightly more than $27 billion, mainly due to a 25.32 percent rise in engineering goods exports to $7.4 billion.