GJC urges government to reduce GST on jewellery in 2022 budget

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jan 18, 2022

The All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council has urged the central government to reduce the goods and services tax on jewellery in its upcoming Union Budget for 2022 in order to enable businesses to weather the pandemic. 

The GJC approached the Ministry of Finance to ask for GST on jewellery be reduced from its current rate of 3% to 1.25% in the upcoming budget, ET Bureau reported. The GJC also requested that the Finance Ministry raise the PAN card limit from Rs 2 lakh ($2,687) to Rs 5 lakh to make it easier especially for rural households to trade their own gold in times of need. 
 
“Our industry has suffered a lot during these harsh times of the pandemic, and it is also identified as one of the ‘stressed sectors’ in Mr. K V Kamath’s report,” said GJC chairman Ashish Pethe, ET Bureau reported.

“Hence, GJC has proposed changes in Section 40A of the Income Tax Act so that the existing daily cash limit of Rs 10,000 per day be increased to Rs 1 lakh per day. GJC has also urged the government to waive off the bank commission (1-1.5%) on purchase of jewellery through credit cards.”
 
The GJC stated that lockdowns and other effects of the pandemic have caused financial challenges for jewellery businesses for the past two years. With the third wave and the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the pandemic appears far from over, therefore, the jewellery industry is in need of relief to ensure its longevity, according to the jewellers’ body.