Bureau Prayagraj- In a major policy change in the country’s gems and jewelery sector, the Government of India has imposed stringent restrictions on the import of jewelery made of gold, silver and platinum with immediate effect. According to the latest notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the import policy of these precious metal jewelery has been removed from the ‘free’ category and has now been put in the ‘restricted’ category.
The simple meaning of this new rule is that now no businessman or company will be able to import gold, silver or platinum jewelery from abroad without government permission. Now it will be mandatory to obtain special license or pre-permission from DGFT for import of these items. This restriction is so strict that the government has made it clear that even if a businessman has already made a deal (contract) or has made an advance payment, he will still have to follow the new rules and obtain a license.
The main reason behind this step of the government is to stop the alleged misuse of ‘Free Trade Agreements’ (FTA). According to industry sources, some importers were taking advantage of the agreement signed between India and ASEAN countries. They were bringing huge quantities of precious metals to India at low duty in the name of simple jewelery without any gems from countries like Thailand and Indonesia. This was not only causing loss of government revenue, but domestic jewelery manufacturers were also facing unequal competition.
However, the government has taken care of the units promoting exports. 100 percent export-oriented units (EOUs) and companies located in special economic zones (SEZs) have been kept out of this restriction. Apart from this, this restriction will not be applicable on imports which are made under ‘Gems and Jewelery Export Schemes’.
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