Announced by the Indian government on July 10, the budget of India for 2014 grieved the participants of the precious stones and jewelry industry, since it does not provide for reforms that would stimulate the growth of this sector.
Nevertheless, the chairman of the Gems and Jewelery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), Vipul Shah, in the press release issued by this organization, welcomed the creation of the Export Promotion Mission and the restoration of special export zones (SEZ), saying: "Finance Minister Arun Jaitley came out with populist positions, announcing the introduction of a number of small measures and initiatives at the state level. However, none of these steps promises to have any significant impact on the precious stones and jewelry sector. We are glad that our recommendations regarding the regulation of the import duty on the diamond battle and the cancellation of the import duty on preforms of semi-precious and precious stones were taken into account. The regulation of the import duty on processed diamonds at the level of 2.5% will also support the domestic production sector. However, the participants of the jewelry industry are extremely upset that the duty on gold imports has not been reduced by at least 2-3%. This means that the smuggling of gold will continue. " Shah added that the participants of the jewelery and jewelry industry have a reason to rejoice because the government is aimed at promoting exports and restoring special export zones in the country.