Industry Body Calls For Rollback on Gold Import Duty

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) has urged the Central Government to lower import duty on gold. Further, it also seeks to address pending issues in connection with the implementation of the unified tax system- Goods and Service Tax (GST).

Nitin Khandelwal, chairman, GJF in his consultations with Finance Ministry officials prior to Budget 2018, called for lowering of gold import duty from current level of 10% to 4%. Such a move could boost demand for gold among consumers and lift the business sentiment for gold trade in the country. Further, it would also help the government in its fight against black money and make the industry more organized.

The industry body also urged the government to raise the PAN card requirement limit for gold purchase from INR 50K to INR 2 lakhs. Also, the cash purchase limit should be increased from current INR 10K to at least INR 1 lakh, it said. Khandelwal also requested immediate intervention of the government in sorting out some issues connected with GST implementation that are hampering the growth of the industry.

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The Commerce Ministry has also called for reduction in import duty on gold. In a separate statement, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) too have demanded cut in gold import duty. With the country’s Current Account Deficit (CAD) under control, the government should act immediately to announce relaxations, GJEPC representatives noted. Incidentally, the duty was hiked to 10% in an attempt to curb rising CAD.

The Niti Aayog Committee has recommended bringing down the gold import duty to zero from 10%. It also urged the government to constitute a separate body under the Finance Ministry, which will be in given full powers to formulate and implement comprehensive policies for gold in future.

Meantime, the country’s trade deficit hit a three-year record of $14.88 billion during the month of December 2017, mainly on account of surge in imports of gold and crude oil. The imports of gold were up by nearly 72% to $3.4 billion from $1.97 billion a year before. The latest statistics published by the GJEPC says that India’s gold bar imports surged higher by 143% during the month of November last year.