Surat: Diamantaires of Surat are pinning their hopes onto the budget to announce tax concession and relief. Surat has more than 4,000 small and big diamond units employing more than five lakh workers. From 10 diamonds in the world, nine are cut and polished in Surat.
The diamantaires are expecting from the government to introduce the presumptive tax, encouragement to small diamantaires to manufacture jewellery for value addition and grant subsidy for the state-of-the-art machinery.
It is also being expected from the government to float housing schemes for diamond workers, decrease job work and increase export. The diamantaires have urged the government to bring about these measures, keeping Covid time in mind.
Meanwhile, the Surat Diamond Association has put up a list of demands before the government.
Surat Diamond Association president and a leading diamantaire, Savji Bharolia, said that the government should set up diamond industry in rural Gujarat, so that the diamond workers do not have to migrate to urban areas and that they can earn their livelihood in their villages.
"Covid calamity has broken the backbone of the diamond industry and pushed the diamond workers into a pathetic state. The government should announce a special package for them in the budget. The government should give subsidy on machinery used in the diamond units," said Bharolia.
Relaxation in bank loans
Surat Diamond Association secretary and diamantaire Damji Mavani said, "We expect the government to introduce relaxation in bank loans in the budget. The banking sector has a negative perception of the diamond industry. The government should change this perception into a positive one. Apart from releasing subsidies on the state-of-the-art machinery used in the diamond industry, the government should make the process of GST easy by releasing the pending GST refunds. The government should also accord special status to women diamantaires."
Reduction in 7% duty in the jewellery sector
Diamantaire Chandrakant Tejani said, "We demand from the government to bring about a reduction in 7% duty in the jewellery sector. We can give other countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore a run for their money in the sector of value addition of jewellery. If our government reduces duty in the value addition sector and gold, our industry can grow by leaps and bounds."
- Fulfilment of the demand of presumptive tax that has been pending for the past five years.
- Enacting a separate law for foreign firms wanting to engage in job work in India.
- There should be a turnover tax on foreign goods to give a boost to the diamond industry. The 10% gold duty should be reduced to six per cent.
- There should be an easy policy of banking and finance for small diamond units.
- An international airport should be set up in Surat to give an impetus to the international diamond trade that Surat diamantaires are engaged in with the traders' world over.
- An R&D lab should be set up to bring about new inventions in the diamond industry.
