Jewellery could see customs increase in upcoming budget

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jan 10, 2023

The upcoming Union Budget is examining raising customs duties on around 35 product categories, including jewellery. The budget is scheduled to be announced on February 1 and the government is looking for ways to harness the budget to reduce imports.  

“A list has been drawn up based on inputs from various ministries that are being examined,” an anonymous government official told ET Bureau. By hiking customs duties and thus reducing the cost-effectiveness of imports, the government hopes to boost domestic manufacturing in numerous sectors. 
 
Along with jewellery, other sectors which the government plans to increase customs duty for include helicopters, private jets, high-end electronic goods, vitamins, and high-gloss paper. These items are deemed as ‘non-essential’ and suitable for a tariff increase, following research undertaken by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in December, 2022. 

The government is keen to reduce imports as India’s current account deficit reached a nine year high in the second quarter of the 2023 financial year at 4.4% of the country’s gross domestic product. India’s CAD had been at 2.2% in the first quarter of this fiscal. 
 
The government had raised import tariffs on imitation jewellery in its budget for the current financial year. In the 2022 fiscal, the government budget had raised import duties on gold in a bid to reduce imports.