In order to give a boost to the gems and jewellery
sector, the import duty on cut and polished diamonds and gemstones will be
reduced to 5% and on sawn diamonds it will be reduced to nil, Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

Currently, a 7.5% import duty is charged on cut and
polished diamonds. Presenting the Union Budget 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha,
Sitharaman announced that to facilitate the export of jewellery through
e-commerce, the government will implement a simplified regulatory framework by
June this year.

The FM in her speech said, “To give a boost to the
gems and jewellery sector, the customs duty on cut and polished diamonds and
gemstones is being reduced to 5 per cent. Simply sawn diamonds will attract nil
custom duty.”

To incentivize the import of undervalued imitation
jewellery, the duty on imitation jewellery is being prescribed in a manner that
at least Rs 400 per kg is paid on its import, added Sitharaman.

At 3 pm, FUTCOM Gold was trading at Rs 47,677.00 per 10
grams with 0.84% change, according to mcxindia.com. Silver was trading at Rs
61,101.00 per kilogram with a 0.76% change.

While putting forth its Budget recommendations, the Gems
and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) had urged the government to
reduce the import duty on precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum
from 7.5% to 4%.

It had also urged the government to reduce import duty on
cut and polished diamonds and cut and polished precious and semi-precious
gemstones from 7.5% to 2.5%.

The jewellery body had asked the government to allow
exporters to import 10% of total cut and polished diamonds at 0% duty.