GJEPC warns 15% gold duty hike to choke MSME jewellery exporters' working capital
Doubled import duty forces Rs 28-30 lakh/kg bank guarantees, squeezing the 80% MSME base of India's gems & jewellery export sector. GJEPC flags smuggling risk and 30% March export drop, with West Asia trade — 18% of diamond exports — already disrupted.
GJEPC warns India's doubled gold import duty to 15% will inflate export costs, fuel smuggling, and choke MSME jewellery exporters' working capital via Rs 28-30 lakh/kg bank guarantees, amid sharp West Asia trade disruption.
Why this matters
Escalates GJEPC's earlier warning that a 10% gold duty would stoke smuggling and strand MSME liquidity; the council now flags a steeper 15% hike with measurable export fallout.
Retail-brand signals steady at 131 in the last 90 days.