The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) held a meeting with Shri Manish Kumar, Chief Commissioner of Customs, Delhi, at its head office in Mumbai on August 24 to discuss customs-related challenges faced by the gems and jewellery industry.
The meeting followed the recent interaction between Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman and GJEPC leadership. The Finance Minister had nominated Shri Manish Kumar to visit Mumbai and engage with industry stakeholders to understand the customs issues affecting the sector.
Shri Manish Kumar said he would examine the issues creating difficulties for the industry and stressed the need to look at them from a broader trade perspective rather than as individual grievances. He said the objective was to understand the concerns of both the department and the industry and identify practical solutions.
GJEPC was represented by Kirit Bhansali, Chairman; Shaunak Parikh, Vice Chairman; Anoop Mehta, Convener – Diamond Panel; Ashish Borda, Convener – PMBD; Mital Doshi, Convener – BITC; and Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director, GJEPC. The meeting was also attended by Mehul Shah, Vice President, Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), and Anup Zaveri, Customs Convener, BDB.
A major part of the discussion focused on the import and valuation of rough diamonds. Industry representatives highlighted concerns around valuation assessments, repeated examination of consignments and the continued use of 100% checking for shipments, particularly at Mumbai Customs.
The industry called for greater use of the Risk Management System – RMS, with customs assessments taking into account the compliance history and profiles of importers and exporters. Shri Manish Kumar agreed that a risk-based approach could help reduce unnecessary examination while retaining appropriate safeguards against revenue leakage. The industry also pointed to the disparity in checking practices between Mumbai and Surat and sought greater consistency across customs locations.
The role of specialised trade expertise in valuation was another key issue. Representatives explained that rough diamond prices can vary significantly according to market conditions and that customs officers or general valuers may not always be able to determine transaction-level market values. The industry therefore raised the need for a more practical valuation mechanism involving appropriate trade expertise.
Concerns were also raised over misdeclaration proceedings, including cases arising from minor differences in weight, descriptions or other technical details. The industry sought clearer procedures and SOPs that would allow genuine and rectifiable errors to be corrected without automatically escalating them into prolonged proceedings.
Another issue was the treatment of consignment exports and re-imports, where small variations in weight, measurements or descriptions can result in consignments being detained. Industry representatives argued that tolerance levels and the commercial nature of such transactions should be considered when determining whether there has been any actual revenue loss.
The meeting also covered the need for better coordination between customs and other government agencies, greater consistency in procedures and clearer guidance for officers handling the sector. Industry representatives stressed that frequent changes in personnel can lead to differing interpretations of established practices, creating delays and uncertainty for exporters.
Shri Manish Kumar said the concerns raised would be examined with the relevant customs formations, including Mumbai and Surat, with the objective of identifying areas where procedures could be made more practical while ensuring that there is no revenue leakage. He also requested the industry to provide a consolidated flow chart of the rough diamond trade process and a comprehensive list of the issues discussed to facilitate further examination.
The interaction marked an effort to strengthen dialogue between the customs administration and the gems and jewellery industry, with both sides recognising the need to balance regulatory oversight with ease of doing business.
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Shaping India’s $100 Billion Gems & Jewellery Future
At the Chintan Shivir on the 2040 Roadmap, Commerce Secretary Shri Rajesh Agrawal outlined a vision to grow India’s gems & jewellery sector from ~$29B to $100B, driven by innovation, technology, design, global branding.
Shaping India’s $100 Billion Gems & Jewellery Future
At the Chintan Shivir on the 2040 Roadmap, Commerce Secretary Shri Rajesh Agrawal outlined a vision to grow India’s gems & jewellery sector from ~$29B to $100B, driven by innovation, technology, design, global branding.
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