Gem, jewellery industry seeks abolition of import duty on raw material for lab-grown diamonds in Budget

An lab-grown or man-made diamond is produced using a seed, which is a crucial raw material

Gem and jewellery exporters on January 9 urged the government to announce support measures like the abolition of import duty on raw material for lab-grown diamonds and jewellery repair policy to promote the sector and boost shipments in the forthcoming Budget.

The industry also suggested the introduction of presumptive taxation on diamond sales at special notified zones and the introduction of the proposed DESH bill, which seeks to replace the existing law for special economic zones.

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Seeking a kind of "diamond package" in the forthcoming Budget, the industry said in light of the high inflation and economic crisis in the U.S. and Europe and frequent lockdowns in China, the exports of diamonds and jobs in Surat have been impacted.

The conventional source of rough diamonds across the world faces threats of deposit depletion, which also contribute to the exponential increase in the cost of extraction. Industries have thus found lab-grown diamonds to be a profitable alternative. 

These lab-grown or man-made diamonds (LGDs) are grown inside a lab using cutting-edge technologies under specific parameters. They have a similar physical appearance, chemical composition and optical qualities as natural diamonds.

An LGD is produced using a seed, which is a crucial raw material.