GJEPC’s Delhi Regional Office hosted a virtual meeting on Wednesday to discuss pre-budget proposals for the upcoming financial year 2025-26. The meeting aimed to address the declining export trend in the industry and seek solutions from the government.
Keynote speaker Mr. R. Arulanandan, Director, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry addressed the participants. Attendees included Mr. Ashok Seth, Regional Chairman-North, GJEPC, Mr. Anil Sankhwal, CoA Member and Convener, Studded Jewellery Panel, GJEPC and some 25 exporters from the northern region.
Mr. Sanjeev Bhatia, Regional Director (North), GJEPC moderated the discussions which focused on proposals to incentivise exports. Mr. Anil Sankhwal proposed several key points: (i) increasing subvention rates from 3% to 5% (ii) simplifying GST refunds (iii) allowing exporters, who already benefit from gold replenishment for export promotion tours and exhibitions, to also receive duty drawbacks (iv) treating sales to foreign tourists as deemed exports and raising the threshold limit for export promotion tours from $1 million to $2 million and (vi) extending the claim window for export promotion tour replenishments from 45 days to 120 days, aligning it with exhibitions. He also suggested income tax exemptions for exports, emphasising that these measures would provide a significant boost to the industry during this challenging period.
During the meeting, Mr. K.K. Duggal, Director Policy, GJEPC, informed the members that the government had accepted GJEPC’s proposal and the RBI has authorised AD banks to extend the export realisation period by an additional 180 days. This extension allows exporters to realise payments within 360 days, with the possibility of an additional six-month extension subject to RBI approval. Mr. R. Arulanandan recommended that GJEPC share this information with its members.