Budget 2020: Commerce ministry seeks a reduction in import duty on gold

Gross export of gems and jewellery declined by 5.3% to $27.7 bn for the first nine months of this FY

The Union commerce ministry has sought a reduction in the import duty on gold in the coming Union Budget, with a view to pushing manufacturing and export of the gems and jewellery sector, a source said.

In last year’s Budget, the government raised the tariff on gold to 12.5 per cent. Since then, the global price of gold has risen nearly 20 per cent, magnifying the rise in customs duty. These, the gems and jewellery sector has pleaded, are choking the high-jobs generating sector.

Jewellery retailers and exporters have urged the tariff be cut and also the goods and services tax (GST)