SURAT: Be prepared to
shell out more for yellow sapphire for an
engagement ring centre stone or for astrology purpose.
With the finance minister increasing customs duty on cut and polished colored gemstone from 2.5% to 5%, the high-end top quality color stones imported from countries like Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tanzania and China are set to be costlier. The coloured gemstone jewellery market in India is pegged at Rs 5,500 crore per annum with 85% of the gemstones being imported.
Many African countries producing rich gemstones including Tanzania have banned the export of gemstones weighing 1 gram or more to encourage local industry. However, gemstone manufacturers in Jaipur and Surat have sent artisans to these countries to cut and polish the stones and export it to India. An estimated Rs 700 crore worth of preforms and cut and polished coloured gemstones are imported per annum.
Demand for gemstones has increased with changing consumer preference. Apparently, these colours are connected with the Gods of various castes and creeds. Hence, the demand for every type of gemstone emerges during various festivals. If middle-class consumers are planning to buy diamond necklaces, they could do it with the studding of the coloured gemstones in the ornaments, thereby reducing the cost by almost 40%.
Rajiv Jain, MD of Jaipur-based Sambhav Gems, a leading coloured gemstone company, told TOI, "It is going to be a costly affair for consume-rs planning to buy yellow sap-phire, ruby, tanzanite, etc, as import duty has been hiked."
Ajay Sharma, a dealer of coloured gemstones in Jaipur said, "Annual exports of coloured gemstones including tanzanite, emeralds, sapphires and rubies are pegged at Rs 1,200 crore. Jaipur has been importing around Rs 400 crore worth of cut and polished Tanzanite from the Republic of Tanzania. The hike in
import duty will make the stones costlier and exporters here will lose out in competition with China and Thailand."
