Budget 2025: Wait a little while to buy jewelry…?
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented the country's budget on february 1 and big announcements were made in its announcements from income tax exemption to spending on capex. Apart from this, in the budget, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reduced the custom duty on jewelry articles and some luxury items with it. The Finance minister has announced to reduce the 25 percent custom duty on jewelry articles to 20 percent. Due to the reduction in custom duty in the budget, imported jewelry and parts made of precious metals will be cheaper.
According to the budget document for the financial year 2025-26 presented on Saturday, the basic custom duty has been reduced on jewelry articles, parts and items of gold and silver utensils. Finance minister Sitharaman has proposed to reduce the import duty on platinum findings from 25 percent to five percent. However, it has announced the imposition of 1.4% Agriculture Infra and Development Cess on platinum findings. The gems and jewellery industry has welcomed the reduction in custom duty on platinum findings. The government has also proposed a separate HS code for mixed metals of platinum and gold.
What do industry experts say?
Colin Shah, Managing director of Kama Jewellery, said that "Countries like india are known for their high jewellery consumption, so this move will definitely increase the demand in the domestic market, especially in the luxury segment." He said in a statement that the provision of a separate HS (Harmonised System) code for platinum and gold alloys is another positive step that will prevent irregularities.
World gold Council Regional CEO, india, Sachin Jain said that the budget announced by Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is beneficial for the gold industry. Jain said that overall, this consumption-based budget prioritises both investment and expenditure, with the increase in disposable income due to increased tax exemption limits expected to boost overall consumer demand, including gold and jewellery.
GJEPC Chairman vipul shah said the Council welcomes the proposal to create new tariff items in Chapter 71 to segregate precious metals containing 99.9 per cent or more weight silver, 99.5 per cent or more weight gold and 99 per cent or more weight platinum under headings 7106, 7108 and 7110 respectively. He said the move is in line with the representation made by GJEPC to address the issue of classification of alloys of platinum (which mainly contains gold), due to which unfair custom duty exemption was being claimed for import of platinum under India-UAE CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement).
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