The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC) has approached the government with proposals aimed at transforming the country into a global hub for the trade of diamonds and precious stones.
GJEPC Chairman Vipul Shah called for measures to revive exports in this sector. “The Indian gems and jewellery industry accounts for about 10% of India's total merchandise exports,” he said. “However, the industry is currently facing challenges related to the geopolitical scenario, the emergence of a beneficiation scheme and problems related to the procurement of rough diamonds.”
In this regard, he called Ministry of Finance to introduce a Safe Harbor Rule in Special Notified Zones (SNZs), introduce the Diamond Imprest License, and reduce the import duty on gold, silver, and platinum bars to 4%; and introduce duty drawback on exports of platinum Jewellery to take advantage of India UAE CEPA. “These measures are crucial to give a competitive edge to our players and boost exports and at the same time generate employment in the sector,” he said.
Currently, Vipul Shah explained, mining countries are only holding viewing sessions in SNZ, although such zones were originally created with the main purpose of allowing foreign diamond mining companies to sell their products directly to Indian producers there. The emergence of a “Safe harbour,” he is convinced, will allow not only the sale of rough diamonds in these zones, which market participants have long been waiting for, but also to expand the circle of organizations that have the right to work through special customs zones. Indian bidders are currently unable to purchase rough diamonds from SNZ.
In addition, GJPEC has proposed setting up a special customs zone for rough gemstones in Jaipur. “With the presence of zones in Mumbai, Surat and Jaipur, the critical problem of availability of raw materials would be greatly alleviated in this way,” the chairman of the board pointed out.
Hélène Tarin, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
