The All India Gem & Jewelery Trade Federation (GJF), representing the interests of jewelry trade, appealed to the Government of India with a request to abolish the mandatory procedure for consumers to provide the Taxpayer Identification Number when buying jewelry worth more than $ 1,595.
At a press conference, representatives of the organization said that such a restriction complicates the purchase of jewelry for 70% of buyers from rural areas of the country, since they do not issue such a document. In substantiating their appeal to the authorities, the representatives of the GJF said that, according to official data, at the moment only 1.4 million taxpayer identification numbers have been issued to residents of the country. This means that 80% of the population is not affected by this system.
Haresh Soni, chairman of the GJF, said: "The need to have a taxpayer identification number will turn thousands of potential buyers away from buying jewelry, especially those people who are engaged in farming and private enterprise in rural India." He added that the government has already taken the necessary precautionary measures in this segment, for example, a tax withheld from buying gold bars for more than $ 3,191 and with purchases of jewelry worth more than $ 7,778.
Bachhraj Bamalwa, chairman of the GJF, added: "The jewelry and precious stones sector does not generate clandestine revenues: more than 80% of the price of jewelry is the materials from which they are made, for example, gold and silver, which are legally imported into the country ".
At the same time, the GJF was informed that although the organization opposed the government's initiative related to the Taxpayer Identification Number, in general, it supports the updated and pragmatic budget draft and the positive changes that it contains.