Govt Restores
Duty-Free Replenishment Facility for Jewellery
Exporters
The
government has again permitted gold and silver jewellery
exporters to replenish the precious metal duty-free after selling it at
international exhibitions, a move which would help in promoting the growth of
the sector.
This
facility of duty-free replenishment of precious metals was stopped after the
implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).
The
Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Monday issued a notification in
this regard by amending a provision of the foreign trade policy (FTP) which had
stated that “no replenishment” of the precious metal shall be available to the
exporter or manufacturer where they are availing benefits in respect of the
exported product.
An
official of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion
Council of India (GJEPC) said it is a welcome move as exporters were demanding
for quite some time to resume the facility.
“It
is the re-introduction of the replenishment scheme for gold and silver on goods
exported/sold in overseas exhibitions,” the official said.
He
added that earlier, the duty-free replenishment was not available for jewellery sold at exhibitions abroad, so exporters were not
selling, but now, they will get duty-free gold for the quantity sold abroad,
which will give a boost to exports.
Federation
of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director
General Ajay Sahai said, “It was a long-pending
demand and logical as IGST (integrated goods and services tax) and ITC (input
tax credit) refund provide a refund of GST while replenishment gives benefits
of basic customs duty. The two are mutually exclusive.”
Dip
in exports
Exports
of gems and jewellery dipped 8.5 per cent during the
April-July 2019 period to USD 9.7 billion.
Gold
jewellery declined 4.8 per cent during the period to
USD 4 billion.
According
to jewellery exporters, the rise in import duty of
gold to 12.5 per cent in the Budget have impacted the growth of the sector and
allowing duty-free replenishment would increase the availability of the
precious metal.