Jewelers Guild of Russia discusses work under sanctions

On Tuesday, the Jewelers Guild of Russia held a general video meeting of its members dedicated to the pressing issues of the industry.
Despite the difficulties, or maybe because of them, the Guild has replenished with new members - 11 more companies joined the association.
Eduard Utkin, General Manager of the Jewelers Guild of Russia made a report on the situation in the domestic jewelry industry. The situation in it, already more than serious, is aggravated by imposed sanctions that exist objectively, as well as by subjective regulations within the country. Among the risks, Eduard Utkin singled out the problem of an acute shortage, due to sanctions, of consumables, jewelry tools and equipment, spare parts and components necessary for the operation.
The head of the association also specified the measures necessary for the industry to finalize the regulatory legal acts developed by the Guild in order to ease the pressure on the industry of mandatory requirements, including the need to restore special tax regimes (STR), which were legally canceled from January 1, 2023. This is one of the main conditions for survival of small businesses operating in the field of precious metals and precious stones.
The ban on the use of STR in the field of precious metals and precious stones was put as a result of the expeditious introduction of refined gold bars circulation without VAT for the population. By banning the STR, the state aimed to prevent the “cross-flow” of precious metals between the two-channels of circulation (without VAT and with VAT).
The meeting discussed mainly two options for resolving this issue: the introduction of gold turnover for everyone with VAT, or, conversely, for everyone without VAT, in order to equalize the conditions for gold turnover for both large and small industry businesses: in this way, the precious metal will be made available for purchasing under the same conditions both from refineries and banks, as well as from pawnshops.
Based on the results of this discussion, it was decided to instruct the Association Council to once again weigh all possible decisions and come up with a consolidated opinion at the extraordinary General Meeting of the Association on May 17, 2022.
The meeting also approved a list of regulations requiring amendments to reduce the burden on businesses in the field of precious metals and precious stones.
A program of measures to support the jewelry industry in the face of sanctions pressure on the Russian economy was also approved.

Galina Semyonova for Rough&Polished