Import duty on precious stones to rise but gold to be spared

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Sep 25, 2018

The central government is expected to raise import duties on a number of items including precious stones with the aim of boosting the rupee but gold is expected to be spared so as not to encourage smuggling.

According to a recent Reuters report, the Ministry of Finance expects import duties on precious stones to rise along with electronics and some kinds of steel. However, import duties on gold should remain more or less the same so there is both good and bad news for the jewellery industry.

The anonymous official in Reuters’ report stated that the reason that the Centre wants to increase import duties is to stop the large number of items being imported into India after being displaced by the ongoing US-China trade dispute.

The Union Government has also been consistently against imports in favour of domestic production, as part of its “Make in India” campaign, which has a special focus on the textile, fashion, and jewellery industries.

Following a drop in June, imports of gold into India surged this July as retailers worked to build up their supplies ahead of the upcoming winter/ festive season.

This season is the most important time of the year for gold and jewellery retailers, which look to receive any decision against raising import duty positively.