Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** The Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council has voiced strong disappointment over the budget’s import duty hike on precious metals, warning it will drive business to neighboring countries and deter foreign tourists from buying jewelry in India.
New Delhi, July 6 (KNN) – The Gems & Jewellery industry is highly disappointed with the budget announcement of an increase in import duty on precious metals, gold, and silver, said Pramod Agrawal, Chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
This, along with the continuation of the existing duty structure on diamonds and colored gemstones, will result in business growth in neighboring countries, as foreign tourists will stop buying jewelry from India, and the processing of large diamonds will shift to other competing countries like China and Vietnam, he added.
He said that with the cost of doing business going up, export competitiveness will decline, also resulting in job losses.
Welcoming the continuation of the ‘Reform, Perform & Transform’ principles, Agrawal said that:
The Council also welcomed certain specific new steps announced in the Budget, such as no charges on digital modes of payments for establishments with a turnover of more than Rs 50 crore, and the application of a 25% corporate tax rate to companies with a turnover of up to Rs 400 crore.
It also welcomed steps to boost traditional industries and their artisans, as well as cluster-based development programs, while reiterating some of the changes it had sought from the government during pre-Budget deliberations.
GJEPC hopes that the Government’s initiative of creating world-class universities will also extend to gem & jewellery training and skill development institutes, and also that the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan Dhan Yojana pension scheme will benefit lakhs of workers in gem & jewellery businesses.
(KNN/Lavannya)