A day after the Government increased the import duty on gold and silver to 15 per cent from 10 per cent, most of the jewellery shares closed with gains.During Wednesday’s trade PC Jeweller rose by 4.43 per cent followed by Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri shares, which gained 2.9 per cent.
Among others, Shree Ganesh Jewellery House rose by 0.77 per cent, while Titan Industries scrip was up 0.45 per cent. At the start of Wednesday session, jewellery opened with huge gains and surged up to 7 per cent. However, shares of Gitanjali Gems and Rajesh Exports fell on profit-booking, down 1.47 per cent and 1.10 per cent, respectively.
As per the statement issued by Government on Tuesday, “To protect the interests of small artisans, the customs duty on articles of jewellery and of goldsmiths’ or silversmiths’ wares and parts thereof is being increased from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.” government had earlier on August 13 had raised the import duty on gold to 10 per cent.
Till now the Government has taken several steps, including raising the tax on bullion imports three times, to curb demand of the precious metal to reduce its trade deficit and support a weak rupee.
By raising the import duty on jewellery, the Government is trying to force consumers to buy jewellery products manufactured within the country. Gold jewellery imported during 2012-13 stood at $5.04 billion. In the April-June quarter of the current financial year, it was $112 million.