Gold & silver jewellery import duty hiked to 15%

The Union government on Tuesday hiked the import duty on gold and silver jewellery from 10 to 15 per cent. ‘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 per cent,’ the Centre said in an official statement.

It explained that an import duty differential between jewellery and the primary metal is needed to protect the millions of artisans who depend on the labour-intensive industry after the duty on gold was increased in stages to 10 per cent on August 13. 

In the absence of any duty differential, ‘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 government said.