Chairman of The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Pramod Agarwal has welcomed the announcement made by the GST Council yesterday about a reduction in the GST rate on Cut & Polished Diamonds and Precious Stones from 3% to 0.25%, saying it will benefit SMEs and give a boost to the sector.
The GST Council, which met yesterday, had cut rates on 83 employment-oriented goods and services, in a bid to encourage greater compliance. The reduced rates apply to 29 items and 54 categories of services and will come into effect from January 25, the official body announced.
Agarwal pointed out that the bulk of the raw material used in the industry is imported and more than 90% of cut and polished diamonds are exported. He added that since the manufacturing involved high value products, the lower rates will enable the industry to “function smoothly without blockage of working capital”.
He opined that changes like these would go a long way in helping the country achieve its aim of becoming the global leader of the gem and jewellery industry.
The complete text of the GJEPC Chairman’s statement:
“GJEPC on behalf of the G & J trade fraternity welcomes the announcement made by GST Council regarding reduction of GST rate on Diamonds & Precious Stones from 3% to 0.25%. This move will certainly support the SMEs of the sector and small players including brokers, agents, and traders to function smoothly without blockage of working capital. Looking at the six million plus jobs that this sector accounts for and the 43.2 billion dollar exports out of the country, this cut in GST rate will definitely help the industry to grow further. Given the high price of the products where around 80% – 95% of the content is imported component and more than 90% being exported , this will be a great boost to the Indian Gems and Jewellery industry. Reforms like these will help India to become global leader in Gems and Jewellery.”
News Source : gjepc.org
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