The gems and jewelery industry is calling on the government to reduce the goods and services tax to 1% on a revenue-equivalent basis in the next budget, with the aim of easing the industry’s cost burden.
“We are pursuing tax rationalization and availability of funds to support businesses,” Rajesh Lokde, chairman of the All India Gem and Jewelery National Council, said in a statement on Tuesday.
With the continuous increase in gold rates, the current GST rate has become increasingly burdensome for the industry and end customers, he said.
The GJC has therefore called for a reduction in GST from the current 3% to 1% in the next budget, which will facilitate compliance, Lokde said.
He added that the tax cuts will improve affordability, especially for consumers in rural areas, and, most importantly, improve revenue generation by increasing the size of the formal economy.
The industry apex body has highlighted the need for concessional GST tax rates on lab-grown diamonds to better reflect their sustainable and cost-effective nature compared to natural diamonds. did. Currently, the same GST rate applies to both natural and lab-grown diamonds.
Additionally, the GJC urged the government to set up a specialized ministry for the jewelery sector, with state-specific nodal authorities and the appointment of a central minister to oversee the jewelery industry.
“We urge the government to take into account EMI on jewelery, which is a long-standing demand of the industry.We also urge the government to consider the EMI of jewellery, which is a long-standing demand of the industry.We also urge the government to consider the EMI of jewellery, which is a long-standing demand of the industry. , which needs to be reviewed as it could help us gain “self-reliance and reduce imports”, said Avinash Gupta, vice-chairman of GJC.
(With inputs from PTI)
