All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) has asked its members not to sell gold coins and bars to curb imports of the precious metal and help the government in reducing current account deficit.
“We have decided to take a proactive step to control the current account deficit situation. We have requested retailers to stop selling gold bars and coins for temporary period so that imports reduce,” GJF Chairman Haresh Soni told the news agency.Quoting Government sources, he said that total sale of gold bars and coins was about 35 per cent of the total imports last year. “If we control sale of these items, we can reduce gold imports by 10-15 per cent this year.”
GJF has membership of about 42,000 across India and they have responded positively to this call despite their concerns about the survival of the jewellery industry, he said. India, the world’s largest gold consumer, imported 860 tonnes of gold in 2012 calendar year. During January-March quarter, the country imported 215 tonnes of gold and about 350 tonnes of gold is expected to be imported during April-June quarter.
Meanwhile, the Government slashed the import tariff value of gold to $421 per ten grams and that of imported silver to $709 per kg, considering the falling trend in global prices. Tariff value is the base price on which the customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing.