Jewellery makers in demand

Shares of seven jewellery makers rose by 0.35% to 6.04% at 10:07 IST on BSE after the government on Tuesday, 17 September 2013, raised customs duty on imported jewellery to 15% from 10% to protect the domestic industry.

PC Jeweller (up 6.04%), Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (up 4.28%), Shree Ganesh Jewellery House (up 3.44%), Gitanjali Gems (up 1.61%), Titan Industries (up 1.40%), C Mahendra Exports (up 0.42%) and Rajesh Exports (up 0.35%), edged higher.

The S&P BSE Sensex was up 13.72 points, or 0.07% at 19,817.75.

The government said on Tuesday that to protect the interests of small artisans, the customs duty on articles of jewellery and of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares and parts thereof is being increased from 10% to 15%.

As part of measures to contain the current account deficit, the customs duty on gold has been revised upwards periodically in the past two years. The government said jewellery making is a labour intensive industry. Millions of artisans are dependent on this sector for their livelihood.

In the absence of any duty differential between articles of jewellery and primary metal, which was 8% in the case of gold jewellery and 4% in the case of silver jewellery in January 2012, there is an apprehension that Indian jewellery makers would not be able to compete with cheaper imports, particularly when majority of the imported jewellery is machine-made as compared to handmade jewellery in India, the statement issued by the Ministry of Finance stated.

Media reports suggested that the hike in the duty on jewellery was demanded by the domestic industry on concerns over imports of cheaper jewellery from Malaysia and elsewhere.

Haresh Soni, chairman of the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation, was quoted by media as saying that this was a good move for the local industry and it would support the manufacturing sector.

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