Gems and jewellery industry welcomes regulatory relaxations

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Mar 25, 2020

The gems and jewellery sector has welcomed the regulatory relaxations announced by the union finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman.
 

The jewellery sector has suffered huge losses with sales plummeting and exports down by 50 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic.
 
The finance ministry had announced that customs will now function as essential services 24X7 until June 30, 2020, and also extended the date for filing I-T returns and GST returns.

“The relaxations will give some relief to worried entrepreneurs and they are eagerly awaiting the economic relief financial package to be announced by the government,” said Colin Shah, vice chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
 
“The decision that companies with annual turnover of less than Rs 5 crore will not be levied any interest, penalty or late fees on GST till June 30, 2020 will help MSMEs in the gems & jewellery sector and the reduced interest rate at 9 per cent for late deposits of TDS till June 30, 2020 will help the sector," he added.
 
The GJEPC is working with the Union Government and state governments and trade organisations with the aim of formulating relief measures for workers who have found themselves unemployed due to the pandemic.

The organisation is also pursuing relief measures for businesses - especially micro, small, and medium enterprises.