The gems and jewellery industry on Tuesday welcomed the Union Budget for the year, suggesting it'll facilitate their business. Presenting the Budget for 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government will facilitate export of jewellery through e-commerce for which it will implement a “simplified regulatory framework” by June this year.
In another major move, she said that import duty on cut and polished diamonds and gemstones will be reduced to 5 per cent while on sawn diamond to nil in order to boost the sector. We reached out to the biggies of the Indian jewellery industry to get their reaction on the budget and here's what they had to say.
"While the budget this year has very less for the Gems and Jewellery industry to recover from the losses, the new norms do boost the sale. The announcement of a simplified regulatory framework to facilitate the export of jewellery through e-commerce is a welcome move and will encourage the Indian designer jewellery brands to build International customer database and export jewellery without any hassle. This will boost the sale of Jadau and Gold as International buyers will have easy access. Further the reduction in import duty to 5% gives a little relief to diamond trader as cut and polished diamonds add up an only 5% of total imports of diamonds. Apart from this nothing else has been addressed including the Gold monetization scheme, reduction in gold import Duty, increase in pan card limit amongst others," said Ketan Chokshi, Jewellery Designer & MD, Narayan Jewellers.
Pawan Gupta, Director, PP Jewellers by Pawan Gupta welcomed the government’s decision to reduce customs duty on cut and polished diamonds along with gemstones to 5 percent saying it will surely provide much-needed relief to the jewellery industry as well as the end consumers. "This will definitely have a very positive impact on the industry at multiple levels. This will also encourage the consumers to move forward from traditional investment methods like gold, real estate, fixed deposits and try investing in coloured gemstones and diamonds," he said.
“We also appreciate the government’s decision to facilitate the export of jewellery through e-commerce, and hope this will give the boost our jewellery industry needs right now to recover from the adverse impacts of the Pandemic. India has always been a global leader in gems and jewellery however due to the vast nature of this industry earlier there was no verified database of the number of employees in this industry and so much more. Hence, this decision to finally facilitate the export of jewellery through e-commerce shall make it easier for policymakers to reach out and promote our sector in the most favorable way” Mr. Pawan Gupta added.
Rohan Gupta, Managing Director, RK Jewellers South Extension-2 also welcomed the government’s decision to reduce customs duty on cut and polished diamonds along with gemstones & appreciates the government’s plan to facilitate the export of jewellery through e-commerce, saying it will improve the tracking mechanism of illegal transactions of diamond & gold.
“We believe that a fair & transparent trade is crucial to increase the consumer’s confidence”, he added.
Milind Mathur, Director, Kohinoor Jewellers Agra is of the opinion that the decision to reduce customs duty on cut and polished diamonds and gemstones will help elevate the gems and jewellery exports sector and lay a foundation for strong growth. Policy reforms like these will increase our market and allow us to compete at a global level. The cut in customs duty on diamonds is a positive step towards the growth of the sector.
“The support given by the government to regulate the online jewellery market will help to monitor the transactions and data security in the digital world today. This decision will also help in the development of the rural economy. It is a great move for all the organized players in the gems and jewellery sector. The welfare schemes offered by the government will help to boost the confidence of the consumers and help the retailers too” he added.
