In a virtual review meeting held between the Finance Ministry and the GJEPC, the Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman called for the formation of a Special Group, including Customs and banking officials, to resolve all issues related to the gem and jewellery sector.
The Meeting was attended by Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Finance Minister; Sandeep Bhatnagar, Member Customs; Colin Shah, Chairman, GJEPC; Vipul Shah, Vice Chairman, GJEPC; Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director, GJEPC were present at the meeting.
Expressing gratitude to the Finance Minister for the review meeting, Colin Shah, Chairman, GJEPC said, “We are thankful to Hon’ble Finance Minister for the special group formation under Member customs. This would help address the sectoral concerns and resolve trade-related bottlenecks. It’s an important step towards attaining ease of doing business.”
The various issues represented by GJPEC during the last meeting included direct sale of rough in the SNZ, Mumbai by miners; reduction of polished import duty from 7.5% to 2.5%; clarification on online equalisation levy for B2B international diamond auctions; and other problems.
With regards to direct sale of rough in the Special Notified Zone in Mumbai by miners, the officials informed that the issue is under examination and in the upcoming budget, there will be some provision in the Finance Act.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
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