GJEPC warns gold duty hike to 10% will lift prices, stoke smuggling and strand MSME exporter liquidity
Jewellery council flags that doubling gold import duty to 10% plus agri cess to 5% locks up ₹28-30 lakh per kg in Bank Guarantees, squeezing MSMEs who form 80% of its base. Urges push for 18K/14K lines (could cut imports 20-30%), revived Gold Monetisation Scheme, and curbs on bars/coins demand.
What happened
GJEPC warns the gold import duty hike to 10% plus higher agri cess will raise prices, fuel smuggling and squeeze MSME exporters' liquidity. It proposes
Key facts
- gold import duty hiked to 10% from 5%
- agri cess up to 5% from 1%
- Bank Guarantees ₹28-30 lakh per kg
- MSMEs 80% of membership
- 18K/14K could cut imports 20-30%
- bars/coins 20-30% of imports
- 25,000 tonnes household gold
Why this matters
Duty shock creates a buyer's window for distressed MSME manufacturing and export capacity, with BG-locked liquidity (₹28-30L/kg) forcing consolidation conversations among the 80% MSME base.