The All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) and The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has expressed deep disappointment and shock at the Interim Budget presented by the Union Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram in the Parliament wherein the Finance Minister didn't mention 'gold' or the 'Gems & Jewellery industry' even once.

Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC, stated, “This was very much expected and the industry was aware about the outcome. We had hopes that the import duty on gold will decline but that too has led us to disappointment.” He continued saying, “Earlier, there were talks that import duty will raise from 2 percent to 5 percent, but they are all just rumors and need to be ignored.”

Haresh Soni, Chairman, GJF, quoted “GJF feels that the gems and jewellery industry is being discriminated. The entire industry is deeply disappointed and shocked at the insensitive treatment meted out to it by the Government. The Government seems to be inconsiderate to the plight of goldsmiths and craftsmen. The Government is also turning a blind eye to the increasing instances of gold smuggling that is not only creating a parallel economy but also threatening the security of the country due to rise in anti-social activities.”

“GJF has reiterated that the Government’s recent policies such as 80:20 scheme has resulted in high premium and monopolised business environment, destroying the organised industry as well as lead to unemployment. We urge the Government to keep import duties on gold low to eliminate smuggling and immediately remove the 80:20 Rule.” Mr. Soni concluded.

Stocks of jewellery companies too were drastically affected after interim budget sidelined the sector. Shares of gems and jewellery companies tanked as much as 11 percent. P C Jeweller, Titan Company, Gitanjali Gems, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ) and Shree Ganesh Jewellery House are trading down between 1-11 percent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Among the individual stocks, PC Jeweller has dipped 11 percent to Rs. 80 on BSE. TBZ is trading lower by 2.4 percent at Rs. 122, falling nearly 7 percent from intra-day’s high of Rs. 131. Titan Company is down 1.5 percent at Rs. 226. The stock hit a high of Rs. 236 in early morning deals on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Gitanjali Gems is currently trading at Rs. 64.80, down by 0.25 points or 0.38 percent from its previous closing of Rs. 65.05 on the BSE. So far 530527 shares were traded on the counter. Renaissance Jewellery is currently trading at Rs. 60.00, down by 0.80 points or 1.32 percent from its previous closing of Rs. 60.80 on the BSE. So far 2089 shares were traded on the counter.