Budget Eve: GJEPC Seeks Presumptive Tax & Exemption for BDB
February 23, 11
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The push for a tax holiday for the BDB is to motivate the industry to give up its decades-old location in downtown Opera House and move to the bourse’s premises in the suburban Bandra-Kurla Complex.
The GJEPC has long sought being brought under a presumptive tax system. The GJEPC’s position is that a presumptive tax system would actually give the government far greater revenue while making the Indian industry more competitive in the manufacture of low-cost diamonds.
India is today the dominant processing nation for low-cost diamonds, other low-cost, labor-intensive countries like China and Thailand have been making steady inroads in this area.
The GJEPC has also sought the abolition of the 10.2 percent service tax that is levied on the procurement of rough diamonds as well as an easing of norms to enable the smooth import of rough diamonds and colored gemstones on a consignment basis. Consignment imports enable the holding of rough diamond and gemstone tenders. Currently, holding tenders is problematic due to tax authorities demand to identify what has or has not been sold from a consignment.
The organization also asked to introduce a Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) to develop the skills of the diamond-cutting workforce. A TUFS scheme already exists for the textile industry.
The national budget will be announced on February 28.