Small jwellers, artisans form national platform

Feb 16, 2020
New Delhi: Small jewellers and artisans from across country have formed a joint national platform, the All India Jewellers and Goldsmith Federation (AIJGF) comprising trade and artisans associations of jewellery sector from different states.

The aim of forming AIGF is to find a solution to the problems of jewellery trade and to work out how traders can collaborate with the government and increase the jewellery business of the country including growth in exports, Pankaj Arora, the first National Convenor of the new organisation said here in a press release here on February 16.

It is an attempt to unite jewellers and artisans under one platform order organise jewellery trade in better, transparent and reliable system, he said.

The new body was formalised on February 15 at a meeting held at New Delhi which was attended by leaders from 22 States. Mr. Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) specially attended the meeting.

There are more than 4 lakh jewelers in the country of which around 95% are small jewelers! Only 30,000 Jewelers are registered with the BIAIS Hallmark! There are about 1.5 million artisans in the jewelery business across the country who make jewelery. The country consumes about 900 tonnes of gold annually! About 3 lakh crore rupees of gold is imported! About 12.5% of import duty and 3% of GST or trade provides revenue of about 50 thousand crores! Whereas silver is traded on a large scale!

Mr. Arora said that at a unanimous resolution adopted in the meeting it was said that AIJGF should also be included in the Domestic Gold Council formed by the Ministry of Commerce. He said that the jewellery traders of the country welcome the government’s order for hallmarking on jewellery and would like to associate all jewellers of the country with hallmarking by collaborating with the government but looking at the pattern of jewellery sales across the country Hallmarking rules should also recognise 20 carat jewellery for hallmarking.

According to the current rule of hallmarking, jewellers are under obligation to keep hallmark record which is unfair and it should be the onus of hallmarking centres to keep such record. It was further adopted that Cash sale of 100 grams of jewellery should be allowed in place of cash sale of jewellery up to Rs. 2 lakh. The Government should open its own Hallmarking Centres in each District of the Country for better compliance of hallmarking rules.

The resolution further urged the Government to give import duty exemption in hallmarking machines and a policy should be brought to encourage Trade Associations to built their own hallmarking centres. Gold metal loans from banks should be easily provided to the jewellers.

It also demanded that for safety purposes, Arms license should be given on priority to jewellers preferably online. The artisans should be provided easy loans under Pradhanmantri Mudra Yojna. Sale of old jewellery is always a contentious issue and often result into harassment of traders, therefore, the Government should issue guidelines in matter of purchase of old jewellery. Appropriate provision of CTT refund should be made to jewellery traders.

–India News Stream